Subject: Economics For Environment and Sustainability

Submitted To: Proff. Vishak Varma

SUBMITTED BY,
JELITTA ELIZABATH SABU,
S2 M.ARCH S.A.
MESSOA,KUTTIPURAM
 Rain made acidic by pollutants
in the air. Acid rain is rain that is
more acidic than normal.

 Acid rain's spread and damage

involves weather, chemistry,
soil, and the life cycles of plants
and animals on the land and
from acid rain in the water.

 Sulphur dioxide and nitrogen

oxides, the major compound
sources of acid rain.
Source: https://www.livescience.com/63065-acid-rain.html

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 Acc. To United Nations
Environmental Protection
Agency,
Acid Rain or Acid deposition
can be defined as;
-any form of precipitation with
acidic components, such as
sulphuric or nitric acid that fall
to the ground from the
atmosphere in wet or dry
forms. This can include rain,
snow, fog, hail or even dust
that is acidic.

Source:https://www.epa.gov/acidrain/what-acid-rain

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  Wet Deposition:-
1.acidic rain
2.snow
3. Fog
 Dry Deposition:-
1.acidic gases
2.Particles

Source:https://www.epa.gov/acidrain/what-acid-rain

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Source:https://www.epa.gov/acidrain/what-acid-rain

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  Burning coal, Oil and natural gas, in power
stations makes electricity, giving off sulphur
dioxide gas.
 Burning petrol and oil in vehicle engines gives off
nitrogen oxides as gases.
 These gases mix with water vapour and
rainwater in the atmosphere producing weak
solutions of sulphuric and nitric acids – which fall
as acid rain.
Source:https://www.epa.gov/nutrientpollution/sources-and-solutions-fossil-fuels

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 Natural phenomenon:
 Forest fire
 Biological processes
 Lightning
 Volcano
 Anthropogenic activities:
 Industries
 Vehicles
 Nuclear plants
 Power generation plants
 Brick kilns

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Source:https://www.tiredearth.com/articles/acid-rain-causes-effects-and-solutions:
Source:

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Effects on Human being.
Effects on plants.
Effects on buildings and sculptures.
Effects on soil quality.
Effects on water quality.
Effects on animals and birds.

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Effects on Human beings

•Aluminum, one of the toxic metals

affected by acid rain, is associated with
Alzheimer’s disease.

•The emissions of nitrogen oxide and

sulfur dioxide cause respiratory
problems like throat, nose and eye
irritation; headache; asthma;

•Acid rain is particularly harmful for

those who have difficulty in breathing or
suffer from asthma. In fact, even the
lungs of healthy people can be damaged
by the pollutants in acid air.

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Effects on plants and
trees
•It corrodes the waxy protective coating
of the leaves.

•It results in making the plant

susceptible to disease. The plant loses its
ability to produce sufficient amounts of
nutrition for it to stay healthy.

•The plant becomes vulnerable to the

cold weather, insects, and disease, which
can lead to its death.

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Effects on buildings and
sculptures
•Dissolve limestone, sand stone, marble,
ceramics and metals etc.

• So badly damage the buildings,

monuments and sculptures.

• As they lose their features when

exposed to acid rain. Also destroy the
textile, paints, rubber and leather

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•Effects on soil quality
•Acid rain is absorbed into the soil making it
virtually impossible for these trees to survive. As a
result of this, trees are more susceptible to viruses,
fungi and insect pests

•As acid rain moves through the soils, it can strip

away vital plant nutrients through chemical
reactions, thus posing a potential threat to future
forest productivity.

•Poisonous metals such as aluminium, cadmium

and mercury, are leached from soils through
reacting with acids.

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Effects on Aquatic Life

•A high amount of sulfuric acid interferes

with the ability of fish to take in
nutrients, salt, and oxygen.
•
• The acidity, which reduces the pH level,
causes the imbalance of salt in the
tissues of fish.

•Change in the pH level also impairs the

some of the fish’s ability to maintain
their calcium levels.

•The eggs become to weak or brittle.

Lack of calcium also causes deformed
bones and weakened spines.
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Effects on Animals and
birds
Animals and birds, like waterfowl or
beavers, which depended on the water
for food sources or as a habitat, begin to
die due to Acid Rain.

 Due to the effects of acid rain, animals

which depended on plants for their food
also begin to suffer.

Tree dwelling birds and animals also

begin to languish due to loss of habitat.

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 Congress passed a law called the Clean Air Act Amendments of
1990, and this law said that EPA should start the Acid Rain
Program.
 The program limits, or puts a cap on, the amount of sulfur dioxide
that power plants can release into the air and issues allowances to
the power plants to cover their sulfur dioxide emissions. It also
reduces the amount of nitrogen oxides that power plants can
release.
 The ARP was the first national cap and trade program in the
country and it introduced a system of allowance trading that uses
market-based incentives to reduce pollution.
 Reducing emissions using a market-based system provides
regulated sources with the flexibility to select the most cost-
effective approach to reduce emissions, and has proven to be a
highly effective way to achieve emission reductions, meet
environmental goals, and improve human health.

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ACID RAIN PROGRAM(ARP)

 Formed in 1995
 Initiative taken by the US Environmental
Protection Agency. (US EPA)
 Reduce annual emissions of sulfur dioxides and
nitrogen oxides.
 For Sulfur dioxides:
 Cap and trade program
 Allowance Trading System
 For Nitrogen oxides:
 Rate-based regulatory system
 Example: East Kentucky Power Cooperative
Requires company to reduce approximately
400 tons of harmful toxin emissions every year

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 Cap and trade helped power plants find a new way
to lower emissions.
 A cap-and-trade approach was written into the 1990
Clean Air Act. It required cutting overall sulfur
emissions in half, but let each company decide how to
make the cuts.
 Power plants that lowered their pollution more than
required could sell those extra allowances to other
plants.
 A new commodities market was born.
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 “Cap-and-trade” means a government authority
establishes a cap that limits the total amount of pollution
allowed, and then distributes permits for a “right to
pollute” the global atmosphere, which can be traded as
private property.
 The amount of greenhouse gas emissions permitted
declines each year, creating demand for a new
commodity: carbon permits.
 When offered enough money (or faced with high enough
costs), polluters who own permits (or need permits) will
reduce their emissions.
 These trades establish a market price for greenhouse gas
pollution.
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History
 Command-and-control approach did not provide
the environmental certainty necessary for serious
carbon reductions.

 U.S. President George H. W. Bush proposed

legislation that would establish the acid deposition
control.

 Reduction in NO2 and SO2 by 50% of 1980 levels by

2000 through a market based initiative

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 Caps took effect in 1995
 Phase 1 – started in January 1, 1995 (identified 110 power
generating plants)
 Phase 2 – started in January 1, 2000 (all fossil fired units)

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 The first emissions
trading program was
remarkably
successful in
accomplishing
environmental goals.
 Reduced acid rain
concentrations by
over 50% in just 10
years.
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 The ARP has helped deliver
annual SO2 reductions of over 93% and
annual NOX emissions reductions of over
86%.

The Acid Rain Program (ARP) has delivered

significant reductions of sulfur dioxide
(SO2) and nitrogen oxides (NOX) emissions

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 The ARP has helped deliver
annual SO2 reductions of over 93% and
annual NOX emissions reductions of over
86%.

The Acid Rain Program (ARP) has delivered

significant reductions of sulfur dioxide
(SO2) and nitrogen oxides (NOX) emissions

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 Wet sulfate deposition – a common
indicator of acid rain – dropped by
70% between 1989-1991 and 2016-2018

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 https://www2.slideshare.net/nemmetz/cap-and-trade-policy-overview

 https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Acid_Rain_Program

 https://www.epa.gov/airmarkets/acid-rain-program-historical-reports

 https://www.epa.gov/sites/production/files/2015-08/documents/1995compreport.pdf

 https://www.epa.gov/acidrain/what-acid-rain

 https://www.epa.gov/airmarkets/regional-haze

 https://www3.epa.gov/acidrain/education/site_students/glossary.html

 https://www.livescience.com/63065-acid-rain.html

 https://www.edf.org/approach/markets/acid-rain

 https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/abs/10.1068/c160723

 https://www.edf.org/climate/how-cap-and-trade-works

 https://www2.slideshare.net/zachpilchen/impact-of-the-1990-clean-air-act-amendments

 https://www.nap.edu/read/11192/chapter/7#77

 https://www.slideshare.net/whiskeyhj/acid-rain-1207059932534136-3

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