Acid
rain is a great problem in our world. It causes fish and
plants to die in our waters. As well it causes harm to our own race as well, because we eat these fish, drink this water and eat these plants. It is a problem that we must all face together and try to get rid of. However
Acid rain on it''''s own is not the biggest problem. It cause many other problems such as
aluminum poisoning. Acid Rain is deadly. Acid rain is all the rain, snow, mist etc that falls from the sky onto our planet that contains an unnatural acidic. It is not to be confused with uncontaminated rain that falls, for that rain is naturally slightly acidic. It is caused by today''''s industry. When products are manufactured many chemicals are used to create it. However because of the difficulty and cost of properly disposing of these products they are often emitted into the atmosphere with little or no treatment.However until recently the loses of fish was contained to the southern parts of Europe. Because of the constant onslaught of acid rain lakes and rivers began to lose their ability to counter act their affects. Much of the alkaline
elements; such as calcium and limestone; in the soil had been washed away. It is these lakes that we must be worried about for they will soon become extinct
Aluminum is one of the most common metals on earth. It is stored in a combined form with other elements in the earth. When it is combined it cannot dissolve into the water and harm the fish and plants. However the acid from acid rain can easily dissolve the bond between these elements. The Aluminum is then dissolved into a more soluble state by the acid. Other metals such as Copper (Cu), iron (Fe) etc can cause such effects upon the fish as well however it is the aluminum that is the most common. For example: CuO + H2SO4 ----------> CuSO4 + H2O In this form it is easily absorbed into the water. When it comes in contact with fish it causes irritation to the
gills. In response the fish creates a film of
mucus in the gills to stop this irritation until the irritant is gone. However the aluminum does not go always and the fish continues to build up more and more mucus to counteract it. Eventually there is so much mucus that it clogs the gills. When this happens the fish can no longer breath. It dies and then sinks to the bottom of the lake. Scientists now see acid, aluminum and shortages of calcium as the three determining factors in the extinction of fish. Acid lakes are deceivingly beautiful. The are crystal clear and have a luscious carpet of green algae on the bottom. The reason that these lakes are so clear is because many of the decomposers are dead. They cannot break down that material such as leaves and dead animals. These materials eventually sink to the bottom instead of going through the natural process of decomposition. In acid lakes decomposition is very slow. "The whole metabolism of the lake is slowed down." During this same period of time the Canadian department of fisheries spent eight years dumping sulfuric acid (H2SO4) into an Ontario lake to see the effects of the decrease in the PH over a number of years. At the PH of 5.9 the first organisms began to disappear. They were shrimps. They started out at a population of about seven million, but at the pH of 5.9 they were totally wiped out. Within a year the minnow died because it could no longer reproduce it''''s self.
More abstracts about the Acid Rain