Ross Pomeroy. (2022, May 28). Was Acid Rain a Real Problem? Real Clear Science https://www.realclearscience.com/blog/2022/05/28/was_acid_rain_a_real_problem_833801.html
Currently we are in a much better place with our control of acid rain as our methods over the past couple of years have proven to work and our ph levels are becoming much more stable. This brings up the question on whether acid rain was and still is a major problem, or as William Reville put it a “nuisance, not a catastrophe.” Looking back at when it was discovered in the 1960’s, it wasent throught to be a threat, until a couple decades later in the 70’s and 80’s where acid rain became a real threat to the world. This resulted in major efforts to be put forth to track and slow down the effects of acid rain. The major push factor was that when they started testing the rainfall’s pH and found that it grew extremely acidic from a pH of 5.6 to 4.6 in the early 80’s. This almost ten times increase in acidity sent the world into a spiral and scientists warned that by the 21’s century most rivers and lakes would reach a critical pH level, unsuitable for life. Currently in places such as Europe, North America, Japan, and Australia, acid rain isnt too much of a problem affecting us. However in places like India and China, where they burn tons of coal for electricity, acid rain is a huge problem which is causing lots of water to become undrikable as well as destroying ecosystems for native life. So as acid rain isnt as major a problem scientists believed it would be back then, it is still an issue that must be resolved in areas where it affects the most.
This article provides a different look into the problem of acid rain which brings up a good point. Is acid rain as big of a problem today as it was 20 years ago, no. But is it still a problem stemming from climate change that still needs to be addressed, I believe it is. Esspesiclly in places mentioned like India and China where large businesses burn so much coal there to produce their goods. Leaving the water more acidic, which affects the poor people in those countries that make up the majority of the population. As well as places here in America where we burn large amounts of fossil fuels to power our cities and mine for materials, the pH of the water isnt great and leaves nearby ecosystems to suffer. So as this may not be a catastrophe, it’s still a critical problem we must solve.
I think it’s super interesting to read about the impact of acid rain as well as how the conditions have improved in some regions throughout the last few decades. I wonder what can be done to support the countries you mention, like India and China, who still face a lot of acid rain? Like with so many questions in environmental science, I think it’s difficult to balance the need for energy with the impact of cheap/convenient forms of energy, and these are decisions which require a lot of difficult trade-offs.
I Agree that is great news that we have diminished the problem of acid rain in most countries and that we still need to try to eliminate it in the remaining countries. Countries like India and China that are experiencing acid rain are stuck between a rock and a hard place as their dependency on fossil fuels is causing acid rain but alternative clean energies aren’t able to keep up the demand for electricity from their enormous population. In order to completely eliminate acid rain there must be more innovation within the energy sector that would allow countries to completely eliminate their need for fossil fuels while not burdening their residents. How else could countries like India and China combat Acid Rain?