Download Acid Rain in Germany

Acid Rain in Germany
Environmental Issue____________________________________________________
Causes
Event
(Important Facts)
Solutions?
Effects
Acid Rain: Caused by these…
Acid Rain: Results in this…
Acid Rain in Germany
• What causes acid rain?
• Acid rain occurs when factories’ smoke or vehicles’ exhaust
containing sulfur dioxide and nitrogen oxides go up into the
atmosphere
• It comes back down to earth in the form of harmful
precipitation (rain, snow, etc.)
Event: Acid Rain in Germany
• Causes:
car emissions (gases and particles which are put into the air
by various sources)
factories emissions
other air pollution
• Effects:
kills animals
pollutes water, kills forests and other plants
destroys buildings and monuments
Germans afraid of this…
Black Forest in Germany
…becoming this…
Acid Rain
 Damage to fish stocks and forests have great economic
impact to local economy and international trade.
 Damage to buildings resulting in money having to be
spent to renovate.
Closure of many factories resulting in loss wages.
What can be done?
European Union members have agreed to the Kyoto
Protocol, or reduce emissions of greenhouse gasses
• Find alternative energy sources
• Conserve resources
All of these “fixes” cost money!!
Germany
• Until 1980’s, people did not believe that acid rain was a
problem
• When people saw that forests were dying, they started to
worry (Germans love their forests)
• Almost half of trees in forest were damaged
• Pollution in Germany was actually causing acid rain in other
countries
• Then Germans and others in Europe began pushing for
emissions laws (how much pollution can be let out in the
air)
• Now Europe has very strong laws about this: very little
pollution allowed
• Germans are using hydroelectricity to reduce acid rain.
Hydroelectricity: Human/Environmental Interaction:
Depending on our environment.
Frame for Thinking Map
• One the back of your multi-flow thinking map write a so what? and so
why statement.
What is this thinking map about?
Why is this thinking map important to learn about?