Air Pollution Essay Research Paper Copyright c — страница 2

photosynthesis. The tree may then diminish in health because Because acid rain falls directly on water habitats, the effects on aquatic life is most clearly seen (Acid Rain Sourcebook 15). Lakes and streams gradually become more and more acidic because the buffer can not neutralize the rain. As a result, the num The effects of acid rain can also be manifested in the damage it causes to natural and man-made materials. Acid tends to “liberate” metals, such as aluminum from the soil where they are normally bound. The aluminum is particularly harmful to fish, but al in France, and the Coliseum in Italy. It is a good thing that acid rain producing pollutants have declined 40% since the 1960’s. At least we are on our way to solving this problem (Buchdahl “Effects on

Buildings” 2). Acid rain also affects human life. These however, are not very noticeable. In fact, many people are unable to detect a difference between acid rain and regular rainwater because they both look and feel the same. The air pollutants that create acid rai Prevention of Acid Rain Prevention of acid rain build up in the atmosphere and environment has temporary and permanent solutions. The most widely used solution to neutralize the acidity found in lakes and streams is to fly a plane over the body of water, and spray it with powd lemented, this system is forecast to reduce the total annual emissions by 10 million tons by the year 2000 (What You Can Do 7). As one can see, acid rain is being researched greatly by vigilant, thoughtful, and dedicated scientists in their

attempts to f Acid rain is indeed one of the major air pollutants of our day. Since air pollution can reach virtually anyone and affect pretty much everything, some overall solutions must be established to either stop this increasingly harmful phenomenon or at least Government Measures The United States Congress has been strongly urged over the last few decades to pass and enforce environmental laws to protect the health of the nation. The National Environmental Policy Act was passed in 1969 which created the Council on Environmental Another environmental safely measure enforced included the establishment of the Environmental Protection Agency, or the EPA, in 1970. This organization is helping to minimize pollution not just in the air, but also in other categories of the

environment Finally, a solution was reached in 1990 with the signing of the Clean Air Act Amendment. This new law was built on the good strengths of the Clean Air Act of 1970 and 1977 as well as other environmental lessons learned over the past twenty years. The b in a year. If the utility happens to overstep the limits which they are allowed to emit, the company must pay a fine of $2,000 for each ton of sulfur dioxide emitted over their allowance. Furthermore, on the next year, the company much reduce their emis Other goals and plans that are included in the Clean Air Act Amendment of 1990 are state-approved inspections and maintenance programs for motor vehicles in areas with severe carbon monoxide and ozone levels and an emissions control system to limit the u Responsible

Citizenry What can the common working man do to help out the air? Conservation of energy and electricity can help tremendously because waste from power plants that are thrown into the air is a major source of air pollution (What You Can Do 13). New home and offi ike to do errands, leisure activities, or get to work (What You Can Do 13). A new concept that is gaining more popularity is the use of “cleaner”, or reformulated, gasoline for motor vehicles. Since the first of January in 1995, reformulated gasoline has been available in the market. The EPA has worked cooperatively with auto and petroleum industries to make sure that the new gas fully meets the needs of Americans. The reformulated gas is ju Conclusion The future of air quality is starting to look better. A few years

or even decades ago, that statement was not true, but because of new and effective methods, the amount of air pollution has significantly dropped. Improved public transportation systems, ng to help” (Buchdahl “Health Effects” 5). WORKS CITED Brownstein, Ronald. “The Chemistry of Atmospheric Pollutants.” Air Quality Information Resources: On-line. Internet. 15 Feb. 1997. Buchdahl, Joe. “Health Effects of Urban Air Pollution.” Air Quality Information Resources: On-line. Internet. 12 Feb. 1996. Buchdahl, Joe. “The Effects of Acid Deposition on Building Materials.” Air Quality Information Resources: On-line. Internet. 12 Feb. 1996. Jakobson, Cathryn. Think About The Environment. New York: Walker and Company, 1992. Mann, Clare. “Acid Rain: an old or new problem?”