Acid Rain
If it is raining we grab an umbrella, a raincoat and maybe some boots and are protected from the falling drops of water. Rain looks clear and harmless as it falls from the sky, but is it really more dangerous than it looks?
Acid rain is a problem for the environment and in many areas of the world the rain is more like vinegar instead of water.
This is because the raindrops have pollutants in them and these chemicals create acids that can harm the Earth. Acid rain eats away at the paint and metal on buildings and cars. It also is destroying many of the world’s most beautiful relics like the Parthenon and even the Taj Mahal.
Some of the forests have had trees killed because of the acid rain that falls. On top of some mountains the trees have stopped growing. There are even lakes and ponds that no longer have fish swimming about because the water contains too much pollution and acids.
The pollution and smokes from one country create acid rains in other countries because of the winds that spread the chemicals in the atmosphere.
Normal rainfall has a little acid, but scientists have been taking samples from the land, plants and water here on Earth for years. This is how they can track the increase in the amount of acid in rain today.
There is a large body of water in the Adirondack Mountains of New York known as Woods Lake. The fish had all died because of the acid rain that had “acidified” the water. Scientists have been able to dump lots of lime into the lake by using helicopters. Now that the water is better the lake has been restocked and the fish are growing.
The Black Forest in Germany is another place that has been attacked by acid rain. People believe that the nearby authobahns are chiefly to blame. The cars on these roads go very fast and create a lot of pollution. The winds then blow the smoky chemicals into the Black Forest where they collect in the clouds and fall to Earth in drops of rain.
What the acid rain does is prevent the large evergreen trees from getting any nutrients. This is weakening the forest trees and they become sick and get diseases. Many of the trees have lost their leaves and some have gone completely bald, stripped of leaves and bark.
Germany is now busy trying to save the Black Forest. There are discussions about limiting how fast cars can go and people want to find other ways to decrease pollution. Even the neighbouring countries have agreed to limit pollution so that they too can help in this fight.
The only way we can fight threats to the environment is by working together to save our planet. Even kids can help by being thrifty with natural resources, not littering and conserving energy whenever possible.
This is an original news article © The Kids Window
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