Poison in the Rockies
In the last 10 years, the phenomenon known as acid rain has become recognized both in the United States and Europe as a major environmental danger. Acid rain has brought devastation to thousands of lakes and streams in the U.S. and Canada such as the Colorado Rockies. Some aquatic systems have become so acidic that they are effectively dead. In others, fish struggle to survive. Acid rain damage in the U.S. alone is estimated at more than $10 billion annually. Acid Rain is one of the three most threatening environmental factors to water quality in Colorado; two more factors are mining and recreational development. Once the water quality in Colorado is destroyed then that leads to impact the downstream rivers. The watersheds in Colorado supply 10,000,000 gallons of water daily to other states. This enables the pollution in Colorado to spread to across the country. An ecosystem con only withstand a limited amount of acidity so if there is an excess of acids it can easily destroy an ecosystem's balance. The problem is one of balance; nature depends upon balance. Normal precipitation reacts with alkaline chemicals - derived from the region's bedrock and found in the air, soils, lakes, and streams - and is thereby neutralized. Howeve
+ O2 SO2; 2 SO2 + O2 2 SO3; SO3 H2O + H2SO4 . Children are more susceptible to health damages from acid rain because kids are more active outside than most adults. This means that they play in soil that is high in lead from tailings piles and they eat outside with these high lead levels. The children live in houses that are made with tailings as fill. A study in Colorado Rocky children proved this with a blood test showing extremely high lead levels in their bloodstream. ------------------------------------------------------------------------ EDF has also helped in drafting or enacting state laws controlling sulfur and nitrogen pollution in New York, New Hampshire, Massachusetts, Minnesota, and Wisconsin. State laws serve as a model, and put greater pressure on Congress to pass effective national controls. To deal in the long run with acid rain and the related problem of global warming known a the greenhouse effect, it will be necessary to make a transition away from dependence on fossil fuels and toward alternative energy sources. Cooperative efforts with industry to expand the kind of energy initiatives that EDF pioneered in California will be urgently needed as the nation--and the world--begin to make this complex transition. We eat food, drink water, and breathe air that has come in contact with acid deposition. Canadian and U.S. studies indicate that there is a link between this pollution and respirator problems in sensitive populations such as children and asthmatics. Among one of the serious side effects of acid pollution on humans is respiratory problems. The SO2 and NO2 emmisions give rise to respiratory problems such as asthma, dry coughs, headaches, eye, nose and throat irritations. An indirect effect of acid precipitation on humans is that the toxic metals dissolved in the water are absorbed in fruits, vegetables and in the tissues of animals. Although these toxic metals do not directly affect the animals, they have serious effects on humans when they are being consumed. For example, mercury that accumulate in the organs and tissues of the animals has been linked with brain damage in children as well as nerve disorders, brain damage and death. Similarly, another metal, Aluminium, present i! The species that
Some common words found in the essay are:
H2SO4 Nitric, Acid Rain, Colorado Rocky, SO2 NO2, Decreased Ca+2, Mountain West, Minnesota Wisconsin, acid rain, Colorado Rockies, United Europe, Act EDF, sulphuric acid, sulphur dioxide, lakes streams, ca+2 levels, acid rain damage, rain damage, water quality colorado, water quality, + o2, heavily polluted, brain damage, acid mine drainage,
Approximate Word count = 1531
Approximate Pages = 6 (250 words per page double spaced)
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