Acid deposition is a huge problem in our world today. It contaminates our waters causing the deaths of plants, trees, and fish as well as other animals. This is not a problem that only affects wildlife, as humans, we depend on this wildlife for our own sources of food and shelter. It is a problem we must face together in order to solve it. However, acid rain by itself is not the biggest problem. It causes many other deadly problems such as aluminum poisoning.What is acid deposition? Acid deposition, also known as acid rain, is all the rain, snow, mist, etc. that falls from the sky onto the Earth that contains unnatural acids. It is not to be concerned with uncontaminated rain that falls, even though all rain is naturally slightly acidic. Acid rain is caused by contaminates emitted by today's industries as well as by automobiles. These poisons are released into our atmosphere because of the difficulty and cost of properly disposing of them. Therefore, the sulfur dioxides and nitrogen oxides reach our atmosphere virtually untreated. "Eventually, raindrops that fall through heavily-polluted air scavenge a load of airborne materials, and included in their load are acid gases and acid particles. Discovery:Acid deposition was first considered to be a serious threat around 20 years ago when scientists in Norway and Sweden first believed that acidic rain might be causing great ecological damage to the planet. This was a monumental discovery. However, it was discovered too late. Detecting acidic lakes is often quite difficult. A lake does not become acidic overnight. It happens over a period of many years, or even over decades of deposition. The changes are usually too gradual for them to be detected early (Acid Deposition, 1983, p.128). Sulfuric acid is composed of two parts known as ions. They are hydrogen (H2) and sulfate (SO4) (Luoma, 1984, p.147). When it rains and the rivers overflow onto their banks the river passe...
