Acid Rain

 Rain that can damage the environment because it contains acid from factory smoke and car exhaust  Can damage plants, fish, animals, and even buildings.

Factories, power plants, and vehicles release sulfur dioxide and nitrogen oxides into the air. Some pollutants fall to the ground. Other pollutants mix with water in clouds to form sulfuric acid and nitric acid. Acid rain falls from the clouds. Acid in soil and water damages plants and wildlife. Acid rain also harms buildings and cars.

 Where Germany, Poland, and Czech Republic meet  Lots of factories and power plants here  They burn a soft, brown coal that blackens the air

 When lignite burns it gives off two chemicals  Sulfur dioxide  Nitrogen oxides

 When they react with water, they form acids  Acids eat away at things

 Turn lake water acidic  Kill fish

 In the late eighties, the situation was disastrous.  The rivers were polluted by industrial waste.  Smog was an almost permanent feature in some valleys.

 The National Park of Karkonosze/Krkokonose was notorious for its thousand hectares of blackened and needle-less spruce trees.

 In terms of public health, doctors' statements refer to chronic respiratory and allergenic disorders.

 Because of high chimneys of factories, the smoke is carried by high winds  Better for cities/worse for other areas and countries – Sweden and Finland

 Rewards to reduce pollution  New technologies  Smokestack scrubbers  Catalytic converter  Decrease use of coal

 Salmons have returned to some rivers.  The forests have been regenerated.  The air has reached a quality similar to that breathed within the European Union.

Soot from Factories Creates Acid Rain  Write the name of the countries that were the source of the acid rain.  Then complete this sentence: The Black Triangle became a source of acid rain when… Air Pollution Brings Acid Rain to Other Countries  Describe how the acid rain effected other countries. Then complete this sentence: One consequence of the spread of acid rain across borders is… Efforts to Reduce Acid Rain  What is one way to reduce acid rain. Complete this sentence: _______________________ help to reduce acid rain by…