Question

1. acid precipitation

• what, its cause and impacts?
• Effects of Acid deposition: Forest, aquatic Ecosystem
• Neutralizing capacity
• Control Strategies
• Increasing fuel efficiency

2. municipal solid waste

• What, how much, and their fate?
• Past practices for MSW
• Siting: Public concerns
• Combustion-A waste reduction process
• Primary and secondary Recycling

Please write 2 paragraphs for the following topics containing these elements

Answer 1

Acid precipitation - when the rain water has it's pH less than 5.6 or the rain water has high levels of hydrogen ions (low pH) than the rain is called acid rain.

Acid rain cause and impact - When  gases such as ammonia, carbon monoxide, nitrogen oxide , and sulphur di oxide are released into the atmosphere by virtue of fossil fuel burning and industrial burning of coal, reacts with rain water and form sulphuric acid as well as nitric acid and fall on ground in form of rain. it impacts humans, aquatic , soil as well as infrasture on earth surface.

Effects of Acid deposition on Forest ecosystem

As this acidic water flows over and through the ground, it affects a variety of plants and animals. Acid rain also affect the forest soil when it exchanges hydrogen ions with the nutrient cations of soil like potassium and magnesium in the soil cause leaching of the nutrients, making the soil infertile.

Effects of Acid deposition on Aquatic ecosystem

Acid rain has been shown to have adverse impacts on freshwaters by killing aquatic life-form as well as polluted the water.  it can be harmful to fish and other wildlife,as it flows through the soil, acidic rain water can leach aluminum from soil clay particles and then flow into streams and lakes and pollute the water.

Neutralizing capacity is a measure of the ability of water to neutralize acid inputs present in acid rain water.

Control Strategies

buffering, adoption of renewable fuel for burning, reducing the emission of SO2 from power stations by
burning less fossil fuel, using alternate energy sources such as tidal, wind, hydropower etc.