Fossil fuels are becoming rapidly depleted.
The use of these fuels are adding to out air pollution problems.
The search and demand for additional fossil fuel resources also impact ecosystems in a negative way.
Industrialization has brought an increased demand for and use of energy.
One of the ways the increased burning of fossil fuels has had a harmful
influence of the environment is by causing an increased incidence of acid
precipitation.
How does Acid Precipitation occur?.....
Most acid rain influencing New York State is caused by sulfur dioxide
and nitrogen dioxide pollution from the burning of fossil fuels in the
Western and Midwestern United States. These gases combine with water vapor
in the atmosphere and fall back to the earth over New York and the Eastern
United States as acid precipitation.
Some Problems Associated With Acid Precipitation:
* Destruction of limestone and marble monuments due to increased chemical
weathering.
* Acidification of aquatic ecosystems destroying the life in them.
* Damage forests and other plants in a variety of ways .
Our increased burning of fossil fuels and the release of excess carbon
dioxide to the atmosphere associated with their combustion is also contributing
to the Greenhouse Effect or global warming. It is believed the increase
in level of carbon dioxide and some other gases is not allowing much infrared
or heat radiation to escape the planet into outer space. This is causing
our planet to slowly warm. The graphs in the table below show the link
between increasing earth carbon dioxide levels and the increase in global
average temperatures.
Some Consequences of Global Warming:
* Rising sea levels and coastal flooding.
* Changed precipitation patterns which may result in droughts in some
regions and increased levels of crop failure.
* An increase in insect borne diseases in temperate regions such as New
York State as milder winters fail to kill the disease carrying insects.
(The increase in the incidence of West Nile virus may be an example of
this.).