The Acid Rain Problem WHAT CAUSES ACID RAIN When power plants, factories, homes, and cars release pollution into the air, they contain chemicals called sulfur dioxide and nitrogen oxides. SULFUR DIOXIDE: Artificial sulfur dioxide comes primarily from the burning of fossil fuels in power plants. It then mixes with water in the atmosphere to form sulfuric acid, which will later fall as acid rain. NITROGEN OXIDES: Nitrogen oxides are also of human origin and mainly come from car exhaust. These gases also go into the atmosphere and mix with water to form nitrogen. acid, which falls again in the form of acid rain. WHAT EFFECTS DOES ACID RAIN HAVE ON THE ENVIRONMENT? SOILS, TREES AND PLANTS. Trees and plants need healthy soil to grow. nutrients. Soils naturally contain small amounts of toxic minerals such as mercury and aluminum. Normally these minerals do not cause serious problems, but when acid rain falls on the soil and the acidity of the soil increases, chemical reactions occur allowing the toxic minerals to be absorbed by plant roots. Trees and plants are then damaged and animals that eat them will absorb the poisons that remain in their bodies. One of the most serious effects of acid rain is soil damage. .Without these minerals, trees and plants cannot grow......middle of paper......every 2 to 5 years and it is expensive.Liming will not solve the rain problem acids, to do this we must reduce the amount of sulfur dioxide and nitrogen oxides produced. Power plants can be equipped with special equipment that reduces the amount of pollutants emitted during fuel combustion. If we used electricity more carefully, we wouldn't have to produce as much and therefore there would be less pollution. Car pollution can be reduced by equipping the exhaust gases with a special filter called a catalytic converter. Reducing the number of trips by car and favoring bus, train or bicycle can also help combat air pollution. Acid rain is caused by the burning of coal, oil, gasoline and gas. It would be better to switch to types of energy that do not cause acid rain, such as solar, wind and wave energy..