Preventing acid rain

[Andrew Greene 3H]

I remember Dr. Lavelle talking about how a solution for acid rain is to add a base to the soil that neutralizes the acid rain when it reaches the soil. I was wondering what would happen if we didn't place a base, what would the effect of acid rain have on the environment?

[Christian_Lee_2K]

Hi there!

Some effects of acid rain on the environment are soil degradation, water contamination, infrastructure corrosion, and worsening air quality.

Soil degradation would occur from the lowering of the soil’s pH which would harm microbial activity and affect the plants’ growth.

Water contamination would occur from the low pH and eventually kill aquatic life.

Infrastructure corrosion would occur from the acid rain deteriorating building materials, ie limestone.

Worsening air quality would occur from the formation of particulate matter and ground-level ozone.

I hope this helps!