Ben's Acid Rain Page
My job in this school project is that of the Biologist, therefore, I will focus my report on the effects of Acid Rain on animals, plants, and whole ecosystems. I will, however, include facts on other things as well.
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Acid Rain is...
Acid Rain is any percipitation that has a PH level of 5.6 or lower. For the past ten years, Acid Rain has been devastating the lakes, rivers, soil, and, some say, buildings of North America, Canada, and some parts of Europe.
pH is a symbol indicating how acidic or basic a solution is. A pH scale is used to determine if a solution is acidic or alkaline. Any number below seven is considered to be acidic. Any number above seven is considered to be alkaline. The scale is color coordinated with the pH level. Most pH scales use a range from zero to fourteen. Seven is the neutral point (pure water). A pH from 6.5 to 8, is considered the safe zone, most creatures are safe in this area.
· 0 = maximum acidity
· 7 = neutral point in the middle of the scale
· 14 = maximum alkalinity (the opposite of acidity)
Acid Rain is caused by Sulfur Dioxide and Nitrogen Oxides mixing with moisture in the air and causing the acidity levels to rise in the moisture, which falls as Acid Rain.
Acid Rain’s Effect on Plants
Acid Rain affects both natural plants, such as trees, and crops. Acid Rain damages the roots of plants, stunting their growth and sometimes even killing them. It also harms the waxy layer on plant’s leaves, which serves as a sort of immune system, making it vulnerable to bacteria and disease. The effects of Acid Rain are such that, even if the plant survives the rainfall, it will most likely die soon after.
Acid Rain’s Effect on Aquatic Life
Acid Rain can carry harmful materials like mercury and aluminum from the soil into lakes and rivers. These materials can poison fish, and the humans that eat them. Water can neutralize acidity levels up to a certain point, but not all of it. If the pH level reaches 5.5, some crustecians, insects, and plankton begin to die. At 5.0, the fish start dieing out. Below that, the entire fish population dies.
Acid Rain’s Effect on Animals
All ecosystems are highly interdependent. Let’s say a certain type of frog eats water beetles. The frog can survive a high acidity level, but the water beetle cannot, and, therefore, dies out. Even though the frog isn’t directly affected by acid rain, it is still indirectly affected, because it’s food supply dies out. The frog then dies out, and this process just continues up the food chain.
Acid Rain’s Effects on Humans
Ultimately, Acid Rain contaminates our food supplies, entire lakes stocked with fish are wasted because of mercury poison. If someone eats a poisoned fish, they can get really sick, mercury is very bad for you, and aluminum can cause Alzheimer’s disease. Acid Rain gets into the water, the soil, even the air. This is bad for asthmatic people. Most cities are filtered to prevent drinking acidic water, but the more rural areas are not, and most cities don’t filter aluminum from the water anyway. Many health problems are caused by Acid Rain.
Possible Solutions
Many things are being done to prevent Acid Rain. Lakes that have become acidic can be treated with an alkaline substance called quicklime, although this does not work on the bigger lakes, the flushing rates are too high and it just becomes acidic again.
To prevent Acid Rain, laws have been made to limit the emissions of vehicles, factorys are using scrubbers on there smoke stacks and are burning washed coal and coal with low sulfur content, all this reduces the gasses released.
There are also things that you as an individual can do. Try to walk or ride your back short distances, this is good for your health and the environment. It is also best to carpool going to work. Reduce use of electric power. Switch off lights, and other electrical appliances when not required.
Interesting Facts About Acid Rain
Ten percent of all sulfur dioxide emission comes from volcanoes, sea spray, plankton, and rotting vegetation. Overall, 69.4 percent of sulfur dioxide is produced by industrial combustion. Only 3.7 percent is caused by transportation.
Natural processes such as bacterial action in soil, forest fires, volcanic action, and lightning make up five percent of nitrogen oxide emission. Transportation makes up 43 percent, and 32 percent belongs to industrial combustion.
I made a poem about pollution and a cinquain, a type of poem, about Acid Rain in particular.
Yellow Skies
By Ben Byrd
Skies are yellow
Air is stale
Look out fellow
Don’t inhale
Acid rain could
Cause much pain
Seas are filled with waste
Water will soon look like paste
Black smoke billows all around
The amount of sickness is profound
Pollution in this world is great
Earth is in a dreadful state
Rain
A Cinquain by Ben Byrd
Rain
Painful, harmful
Falling, burning, destroying
Terrible, ruinous drops fall
Acid rain
My first poem is being published in a coffee table book titled “Eternal Portraits”, look for it.
One more thing. The link below, The MESH, takes you to a really cool site. This guy, Don Rittner, makes cartoons having to do with acid rain and pollution, and some politics too. I highly recommend this site to anyone who is interested in pollution, or just anyone with a sense of humor.
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