The environment can adapt to a certain amount of acid rain. Often soil is slightly basic, because bases counteract acids, these soils tend to balance out some of the acid rain’s acidity. However areas, such as southeastern United States, where limestone does not naturally occur in the soil, acid rain can harm the environment. Frogs, have a hard time adapting to and reproducing in an acidic environment. Plants such as evergreen trees, are damaged by acid rain and acid fog. Due to needles being destroyed the black forest had a lack of green pine needles. Acid rain has also eaten away the stone in some buildings and stone artwork.
The rot we see on buildings come from acid rains, looking at buildings today in places like New York we see wear and tear but not really any drastic erosion on buildings. We can assume this is due to the amount of acid actually put into the atmosphere through rain. Acid rain is very common, however small amounts are released every so often, meaning that the amount of amino acids in the air builds over centuries. Reading the part about the frogs, it makes me think that in certain areas that acid rain leads to the extinction of certain species, since the rainfall can make it harder for certain species to adapt and reproduce.
Source:
Wong, J. (2016, November 06). Gardens: The surprising benefits of acid rain. Retrieved November 30, 2016, from
https://www.theguardian.com/lifeandstyle/2016/nov/06/the-surprising-benefits-of-acid-rain
It’s cool how nature has a whole system of balances, like the relationship between the acidic rain and basic soil that you touched on. What do you think we can do to protect the endangered species? Would it be better to focus on immediate effects and filter bodies of water, or address acid rain as a whole although it is such a daunting task?