Some of the inventions that make our lives easier are also causing pollution. Pollution is the release of harmful substances into the environment. One form of pollution is acid rain. Acid rain can damage plants, animals, soil, water, building materials, and people. Scientists have discovered that burning fossil fuels creates acid rain through air pollution. People burn fossil fuels such as coal and oil to make electricity. Electricity heats and lights buildings and runs appliances such as televisions and video recorders. Fossil fuels power our cars, buses, and airplanes. The air pollution created when these fuels burn does not stay in the air forever. It can return to the earth as acid rain. And when it does, it may weaken the plant and animal life it contacts. Acid rain is only one form of pollution that results from burning fossil fuels

Liming is expensive and the effects are only temporary. As long as acid rain continues to fall, limestone must be reapplied or the water will become acidic again. Liming may be the only way to make sure that life in acid lakes or streams survives until the amount of acid rain falling on the surrounding land can be reduced.

The smoke and fumes from burning fossil fuels rise into the atmosphere and combine with the moisture in the air to form acid rain. The main chemicals in air pollution that create acid rain are sulfur dioxide and nitrogen oxides. Acid rain usually forms high in the clouds where sulfur dioxide and nitrogen oxides react with water, oxygen, and oxidants. This forms a mild solution of sulfuric acid and nitric acid. Sunlight increases the rate of most of these reactions. Rainwater, snow, fog, and other forms of precipitation containing those mild solutions of sulfuric and nitric acids fall to the earth as acid rain.

Each person who turns off the lights when no one is using them and uses energy-saving appliances reduces the amount of electricity a power plant has to produce. When less power needs to be produced, pollution from power plants decreases. Car-pooling, using public transportation, and walking reduce the pollutants that come from vehicles. The sum total of all these individual actions can be very great indeed.

The more informed people are about acid rain and other environmental problems, the more they can do to make the earth a cleaner, healthier place.

Some common words found in the essay are:
Trees Acid, Acidity Acidic, Space Age, Echo Pond, Producing Energy, Rain Scientists, Exhaust Pipes, Precipitation Water, Rain Travel, People Acid, acid rain, air pollution, fossil fuels, plants animals, effects acid rain, effects acid, lakes streams, sulfur dioxide, nitrogen oxides, power plants, coal oil, burning fossil fuels, acid rain acid, rain acid rain, sulfur dioxide nitrogen,
Approximate Word count = 3762
Approximate Pages = 15 (250 words per page double spaced)