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Why a fish cannot live in a swimming pool?
Because _______________________________________________________________
Why cannot prairie flowers live in sea water?
Because _____________________________________________________________
Why animal urine destroys apartment plants?
Because _____________________________________________________________
Where does the acid rain is most prominent? Cross out the ones you judge less at risk:
Europe, Arabian Peninsula, Africa, Far East Asia, South America, North America, South-East
Asia, Caribbean Islands, Ireland, Antarctica, Russia.
Are Muslim countries heavily touched by acid rains? Why?
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Regions that are downwind of heavily industrialized areas, such as Europe and the eastern United
States and Canada, are the most hit by acid rain. Acid rain can affect not only human health, but
also slowly dissolve historic stone statues and building facades.
Can you guess the consequences of losing historical monuments or vestiges? Explain:
___________________________________________________________________________
Acid rain affects the life in the rivers:
The acidification of lakes begins whenever the precipitation (acid rain) falls on the earth,
then infiltrates in the ground. Then chemicals move into lake soil and bedrock where they can
react with limestone and aluminum-containing silicate minerals and give toxic elements such as
heavy metals. Then, they flow down to the lakes. This flow is called leachate.
The good news is if the soil and bedrock is rich in limestone, the acidity of water can be reduced.
Picture courtesy of: http://royal.okanagan.bc.ca/
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Acidic lakes show a rapid decline in fish numbers. Lake life cannot reproduce or they die
of cancer like illnesses. The important reduction in plant nutrients (potassium, magnesium, etc)
and the difficulty to absorb these nutrients due to root damage causes the decline in plant growth
rates.
Many important soil organisms die below a pH of about 6.0 which upsets the decomposition and
nutrient cycles.
In humans, this process causes respiratory problems and other illnesses due to the food chain
cycle.
There are several things that can be done in order to alleviate the problems of acid deposition.
The pH of lakes can be increased by a technique called liming (deposition of hydrated lime or
soda in the lake).
Environmental regulations can limit the amount of sulphuric pollution released in the atmosphere
from industrial sources.
It would help to reduce the number of motor vehicles and to return to walking and biking or
generalize the usage of community buses. New cars mst be more adapted to prevent pollution,
and many companies are working on this.
There have been some progress so far, but everyone has to participate in order to make the Earth
more livable.
The GREENHOUSE effect:
The global warming is another effect of the smog.
What is it?
It is an increase in the earth's temperature due to the buildup of gases such as carbon dioxide in
the atmosphere. Carbon dioxide and other gases, known as greenhouse gases, reduce the escape
of heat from the planet, but they block radiation coming from the sun. Because of this, the
temperatures will be rising 1° to 3.5° C (1.8° to 6.3° F) by the year 2100.
Thus, this global warming would affect climate, crop production, it would disrupt
wildlife, and raise the sea level because more glaciers would melt into the ocean.
However, some people are against a negative interpretation of changes in weather. They say that
if you look far back in the world history, this is not unusual.
Using logic and your knowledge of prehistoric times, can you farther explain this point of view?
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