An effect of fossil fuel use is acid rain and smog which contributes significantly to pollution. Specifically, one byproduct of auto exhaust from gasoline and coal fired power plant is nitrogen-oxide which creates smog and air pollution when it reacts with sunlight. The CO2 creates carbonic acid that transforms into acid rain when it interacts with water. Acid rain will create health issues to plants, animals, and humans. In addition, residents who live next to gas rigs (hydraulic fracturing well pads) are at risk to many health problems due to exposure to fracking fluid, methane, and radium 226 and 223. Radium is radioactive and often escapes from the wells through air and radioactive waste. Furthermore many citizens living in Fracking areas like Baldwin Hills have Fracking wells adjacent to their houses, schools, and parks which causes severe health problems because of the harmful chemicals used in Fracking. Fracking fluid from one well contains a mixture of a million gallons of water including hydrochloric acid, formic acid, acetic acid, methanol, formaldehyde, ammonium persulfate, and over one thousand other chemicals such as concentrated hydrochloric acid which dissolves solid rock with ease to bacteria eliminators. As you can see, even the process of mining natural gas (a fossil fuel) plays a major effect on the environment; after knowing all this information, would you want to drink this water?
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