1. Introduction
Pre-industrial revolution, humans beings used to live a primitive life whereby they used wood for cooking, warming house; as biofuel. Even later when they lived in houses, they used candles to light up their homes. Post-industrial revolution, human beings discovered new energy resources which have made life much easier to live. And the discovery of these resources (coal and oil), have also supported the advancement of new technologies e.g. automobiles, airplanes, generation of electricity from power stations and so on. However, though the exploitation of these resources have made life much easier, they have resulted also in environmental degradation in varies ways (air pollution, a warning earth, land degradation, etc.), something …show more content…
Natural sources include volcanic eruptions, oceans and lightening whereas the man-made sources of SO2 and NOX are combustion of fossil fuels at power stations, industries and automobiles. Most of the emissions are released from the man-made sources as compared to the natural sources. “Burning of fossil fuels in industries and transport sector, industrialization and urbanization have led to increase in concentrations of gaseous and particulate pollutants in the atmosphere leading to air pollution” (Singh & Agrawal, 2008, 15). When these pollutants are released from their sources, they become caught up in prevailing winds and can travel long distances to other regions or locations where they can also cause great damage. The pollutants react with water (H2O), oxygen (O2), other gases and sunlight to form sulphuric acid (H2SO4), ammonium nitrate, and nitric acid (HNO3) (Dubey, 2013; ESA, …show more content…
The effects of acid deposition on these environments depend on the level of acidity (high, moderate or low) of the precipitation and the ability of the ecosystems to buffer the acidic solution. For example, bedrock composed of granite has lower buffering capacity as the rock weathers slowly and does not produce any neutralising chemicals (ESA, 2000). On the other hand, bedrock composed of limestone has the best buffering capacity because it is made up mainly of calcium carbonate
Pre-industrial revolution, humans beings used to live a primitive life whereby they used wood for cooking, warming house; as biofuel. Even later when they lived in houses, they used candles to light up their homes. Post-industrial revolution, human beings discovered new energy resources which have made life much easier to live. And the discovery of these resources (coal and oil), have also supported the advancement of new technologies e.g. automobiles, airplanes, generation of electricity from power stations and so on. However, though the exploitation of these resources have made life much easier, they have resulted also in environmental degradation in varies ways (air pollution, a warning earth, land degradation, etc.), something …show more content…
Natural sources include volcanic eruptions, oceans and lightening whereas the man-made sources of SO2 and NOX are combustion of fossil fuels at power stations, industries and automobiles. Most of the emissions are released from the man-made sources as compared to the natural sources. “Burning of fossil fuels in industries and transport sector, industrialization and urbanization have led to increase in concentrations of gaseous and particulate pollutants in the atmosphere leading to air pollution” (Singh & Agrawal, 2008, 15). When these pollutants are released from their sources, they become caught up in prevailing winds and can travel long distances to other regions or locations where they can also cause great damage. The pollutants react with water (H2O), oxygen (O2), other gases and sunlight to form sulphuric acid (H2SO4), ammonium nitrate, and nitric acid (HNO3) (Dubey, 2013; ESA, …show more content…
The effects of acid deposition on these environments depend on the level of acidity (high, moderate or low) of the precipitation and the ability of the ecosystems to buffer the acidic solution. For example, bedrock composed of granite has lower buffering capacity as the rock weathers slowly and does not produce any neutralising chemicals (ESA, 2000). On the other hand, bedrock composed of limestone has the best buffering capacity because it is made up mainly of calcium carbonate