Elizabeth Claire.(2022, September 13).Acid test: Are the world’s oceans becoming too ‘acidic’ to support life? Mongbay https://news.mongabay.com/2022/09/acid-test-are-the-worlds-oceans-becoming-too-acidic-to-support-life/ 

Human carbon emissions cause ocean acidification, which affects the ability of marine animals such as oysters, to form shells and reproduce. The process also slows the growth of corals and increases the impacts of marine heat waves. Ocean acidification is considered one of the nine planetary boundaries responsible for regulating and maintaining Earth’s functionality. Crossing the threshold of these boundaries could lead to a dangerous state that supports less biological life. Jeopardizing the ability of calcifying organisms to build shells and skeletons could have a horrible effect on the global climate, because calcium carbonate stores carbon. If carbon sequestration is stopped, then the atmospheric concentration of CO2 can increase. Ocean acidification has numerous thresholds, depending on the marine species, ocean ecosystem, or region involved, and the catastrophe doesn’t happen all at once, but happens gradually. If carbon emissions are not curbed and we continue along the same path, global average ocean pH levels could drop to roughly 7.7 by 2100, a level that the planet has not experienced for the past 21 million years. It also risks compromising the planet’s ability to function. This will happen when aragonite saturation levels are at 80% of what they were in preindustrial times. Although the global boundary for ocean acidification has not yet been breached, this threshold is being crossed at many different regions.

This article is really more of a wake-up call for humanity because it shows us how ocean acidification is already affecting not only marine life, but also human life. Absorbing all that CO2 led the ocean to become more acidic, which is killing the wildlife in our oceans. This could affect us as we could get seriously sick from the fish we eat, which could lead to a lower supply of seafood. Additionally, the death of millions of sea animals will seriously disrupt earth’s overall ecosystem. Thankfully, at the end of the article, the author mentions that we are not at the point where the impact is permanent, so there’s still a chance for us to make a positive change.

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. 

John Flesher.(2022, December 19).Scientists: Atmospheric carbon might turn lakes more acidic.Phys.org https://phys.org/news/2022-12-scientists-atmospheric-carbon-lakes-acidic.html 

New studies have shown that the great lakes may be getting more acidic, affecting the ecosystems that depend on them. To track this, scientists are setting up a sencor network which would track the chemistry trends of the lakes, tracking the amounts of CO2 as well as the pH levels. Our oceans are also becoming more acidic as our emissions continue to rise meaning the ocean continues to suck more in. This new acidic level doesnt make the water unsafe to swin in or drink, however if this trend continues, the long term effects may mean the water would become unsafe. Scientists believe that the rate at which even freshwater pH rises that oceans pH and the Great Lakes pH would be the same by the year 2100. The sensors now being a large part in keeping a tab on the pH levels are a key contributor to helping scientists figure out how they can reduce the pH levels and stop the rise in acidity. 

This article shows the steps scientists are taking to help slow the rate at which our water’s pH levels rise. It also talks about how the inrtodiction to new technology has greatly assisted us in tracking CO2 in the waters. The sensors we are using seem to be a great way to constantly monitor our waters and make me feel much more confident in our efforts. Truthfully, no matter how much we monitor the waters and try to find solutions to fixing the pH, the only thing we can really do is to stop emitting so much CO2 which is then pulled into our water. Water is crucial to our survival and if it becomes unusable, our society would fall. 

EPA.(2022, December 14).Acid Rain Program Results https://www.epa.gov/acidrain/acid-rain-program-results 

Over the decade, because of the Acid Rain Program (ARP), we have seen a significant reduction in sulfur dioxide and nitrogen oxides emissions. Along with the Cross-State air pollution rule and the constantly changing energy sector, the ARP has reduced SO2 levels down 93% as well as NOx levels down 87%. The great reduction in emissions has led to a major reduction in acid rain as it has dropped 68% between the years 1989-91 and 2017-19. Another program, The long term monitoring program, has been observing and analyzing multiple water surfaces to track the effects of acidic rain. The data they gathered showed a major decrease in sulfate deposition as well as an 81% improvement in many of the bodies of water they tracked. Their goal is to stay on track and hopefully help to continue to prevent the effects of acid rain. 

This article shows the major steps we are taking to prevent and slow down the effects of acid rain. Acid rain, leaving a large impact on our environments, needs to be prioritized and carefully monitored as it can lead to serious long term effects. According to the EPA’s latest data however it seems we are headed in the right direction. This is much better news compared to other articles from earlier in the year and even a couple recent articles. This gives me some much needed relief as all I’ve read has been how acid rain has been increasing in some areas of the world and how habitats are falling because of the effects. 

Bradford, A., & Biggs, B. (2022, March 16). Acid rain: Causes, effects and solutions. Livescience.Com. https://www.livescience.com/63065-acid-rain.html 

This article explains how acid rain was first being studied in the late 50s, where it took until the early 70s to realize that it was a regional environmental issue. Due to pollution, mainly C02 emissions, acid rain is created when sucked up into the atmosphere to be turned into sulfuric acid. This then rains down, not really as liquid, and greatly affects the ecosystems it lands in. This acid rain affects basically everything it touches such as plants, soil, water, and even man made objects. They kill plants and leave many animals’ entire ecosystems ruined, then it lowers the PH levels of the water, killing the fish in it. There are many solutions to solving this problem, however none can reverse the damage that has already been done. The main solution would be to stop burning fossil fuels, which release C02, and use alternative electrical energy sources such as solar, wind, and geothermal. In general, acidic rain is a major environmental problem which if not solved will continue to eat away at our environment until we are left with nothing. 

This article demonstrates the cause, effects, and solutions of acid rain. It paints a vivid description of what will happen if we continue to pollute and release C02 as acidic rain will only increase. It shows and explains how the acidic rain creates a large impact on most ecosystems, something not just animals but us humans rely on too. I like how it provides a couple of solutions to help slow down the acidic rain levels, however these are all small and would take all of us a long time to make an impact. I enjoy that it gives a very basic and easy to understand knowledge about the situation, but we are at the point where we need to take action now and stop more acidic rain from forming and killing our environment.

University of Maine. (2022, March 2). Study of algae in Acadia National Park lakes shows recovery from acidification. ScienceDaily. https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2022/03/220302190006.htm

Using research from the 1990s, we can now see how C02 emissions have affected the acidification of many freshwater lakes across the United States. These rises in water acidity have led to lower PH levels in the water. This results in damaging many ecosystems in or around it and many depend on water to survive and thrive. However, after the passing of the Clean Air Act Amendments, put forth in the 1990s, researchers from the University of Maine have seen less atmospheric acidic depositions. This resulted in the PH levels to rise, helping to restore and continue to run many ecosystems. Continuing their research, scientists took sediment samples from a couple lakes/ponds to see the effects over time. In the sediment they can see how the algae responded differently over time to the water, and how much the lakes have recovered. If we continue in this direction, scientists believe that we might possibly be able to restore our planet to its former glory. 

I find this shows how acidic water has a smaller effect compared to the acidification of the oceans and how because of this we are able to not only study it but also find solutions. It shows how much of an impact it has on ecosystems not just in the water, but on many of the ecosystems surrounding it. I find this article hopeful because it shows that there are solutions to the acidification of our water and mainly climate change as a whole. However, it is a false sense of hope because of how long it took to change small and unaffected bodies of water compared to that of our main issues being the oceans. This being so, I still like seeing how even though they are small steps, we are making progress to cause climate change to slow down.

Powell, T. B. (2022, April 26). What happened to acid rain? How the environmental movement won — and could again. CBS News. https://www.cbsnews.com/news/acid-rain-environment-earth-day/

Research that has been conducted over the past 30 years has shown how many harmful gasses have been steadily decreasing. It shows that since 1990 gasses such as carbon monoxide in the air have decreased by 74%, nitrogen dioxide by 57% and sulfur dioxide by 89%. Another study was done by scientists where they compared the PH levels from 1963 to today where the PH level was 4.0 – 4.2 and now it is 5.2. It goes on to reveal that the reason for the growth of acidic rain is due to the emissions from many large power plants and factories ending up in large bodies of water. Tracing it back to around the 1950s when the increase could be seen. However, researchers show that things are starting to look up as many new policies are put into place to limit emissions and lead to less acidic rain. Dr. Michael Rennie, a freshwater ecology professor at Lakehead University in Canada, claims “It took more than 20 years, but we’re starting to see biological recovery in a lot of these systems. We’re starting to see chemical recovery. So it’ll happen.” Explaining that even though it took a while, we are starting to get on the right track to healing our planet back to where it is sustainable for all of us. 

This article demonstrates how over time we have seen the effects our pollution has on the environment through things such as acid rain. It connected the rise in large emission-producing factories to the uptick in acidic rainfalls starting in the mid-1950s. Now I find this article both interesting and hopeful. Interesting in the fact that I wasn’t too aware of what damage acidic rain had on the environment as a whole. Also what is interesting is that scientists can pinpoint it back to the 1950s as when the uptick began and how it changed over this large period of time. This also makes me hopeful due to the many policies it mentions that are or will be in place that should really help to improve our emissions.