Period 4 Group 2: Jimmy, Albert, Yuru Final Draft

Written as a senator imploring the passage of a bill which will continue to reduce emissions.

Having grown up farming in the fields, I know too well the importance of nature. We now find ourselves facing a great dilemma, a dilemma which has been occurring for the past 50 years. This dilemma is acid rain. At this point, many of you might argue, erroneously, that the environment is fine because measures have already been taken to reduce the amount of acid rain. However, I urge you to pass this new bill, for once you have seen a forest or a lake devastated by the effects of acid rain, your outlook on the problem will change. Trust me.

I will now take you back on a historical journey. After World War II, our nation became involved in a great industrial growth. Consequently, with this industrial boom, came an increase in emissions like never before. The government realized this problem, and in 1970, the Clean Air Act was passed to help curb the effects of this growing concern. Unfortunately, the original Act did little to help, and in 1990, we were forced to amend the original, which resulted in a much greater decrease in emissions. Even though the 1990 amendments were effective, they were still not enough. Even though acid rain is not as devastating as before, it is still by no means harmless. The preponderance of streams and forests which have been affected by acid rain will never return to their pre-industrial states, but with the passage of this new bill, we can prevent other lakes and ecosystems from suffering the same fate. "What is this fate?", you may ask. I am no expert on chemistry, but I will attempt to elucidate my point.

Acid rain is mainly caused by anhydrides, such as sulfur dioxide, which naturally originate in coal and are released when the coal is burned. When a factory is burning coal for energy, these anhydride pollutants are released to the atmosphere. There, they dissolve in water droplets and react with the water, forming acids. What goes up must come down, so these pollutants are released when it rains, hence the name, "acid rain". Now, when these anhydrides are sitting in the lake or soaking into the soil, they decrease the pH of their medium. The environment then reacts by combining calcium salts with these anhydrides in order to reestablish a neutral pH. The calcium salts are consumed in the process, and the ecosystem will then lack a critical component of survival. In some places there are not enough calcium salts to neutralize the incoming acid, and as a result, these regions have become increasingly acidic over the years.

To see acid rain turn a once beautiful and pristine forest into a desolate wasteland is such a painful sight. People have tried to fertilize the soils with the depleted ions, but it is not enough. It is time to take a stand. Let our era be defined as the one which helped save our world, not as the one which helped bring it to its destruction. Let our children and grandchildren live to see the incredible sights of forests and lakes, unassailed by acid rain. Once we pass the new bill as a nation, I am confident that other nations will follow in our footsteps. A journey of a thousand miles begins with a single step. So now, my fellow senators, let us take that first step.

Period 5 Group E Draft 4

Tracy's Final Draft... A little late due to technological issues.

There once was a planet named Earth,

quite beautiful, always, since birth.

Then came acid rain,

now it’s viewed with disdain;

These toxins have ruined its worth.

This phenomenon’s not very basic;

when anions, often sulfuric,

wash away calcium,

also magnesium,

buffer’s gone—soil’s acidic!

SO₂ formed by the burning of coal,

and nitrogen oxides—they both play a role.

To form acid rain

which brought on such pain,

ecologically they take their toll.

Human lungs breathe in SO₂,

and also absorb NO₂.

Bronchitis appears,

and asthma, we fear,

is caused by the acid rain too.

Fixing means buffers are replaced;

but continuing at this pace,

we will never be done,

the solution will be none,

because the money is being erased.

Acids kill all biodiversity,

as it was proven in the university.

Animals lose sons and

fishes are poisoned,

by smog and exhaust from the city.

Lower PH than fish could take,

it left us with an empty lake.

Less crustaceans and fish,

fewer plants than we wish,

acid rain, oh our hearts you did break.

Humans put sulfur in the air;

Much more than ought to be there.

Moisture + SO₃

yields acidity,

causing statues to need repair.

Acidified statues stand broken.

Their future will now go unspoken.

Is our world cursed?

Can this be reversed?

Oh what horrible monsters we’ve woken!

Tracy’s Comments:

All of you did a wonderful job of crafting the draft so I could add the finishing touches. I noticed a great creativity and originality to the limericks. The information was accurate with the readings we looked at during class. There was a fun sense of humor throughout the piece. The negative effects of acid rain were demonstrated effectively. The damage of the man-made statues and natural wildlife was represented in a clever way. Also, you guys covered the effects the pollution has on people’s ability to breathe clearly. The limericks had a defined beginning and end to the story telling. The main points I improved were some punctuation and time issues within the limericks. I changed some words to make the rhymes more smooth and made sure the right letters were capitalized. I believe we covered the information well and in a interesting way. Nice job everyone!

Period 5, Group B, Final Draft

Hey, I just thought you should know
That your rain is hurting me.
I'm the soil of this Earth.
From down here there’s lots to see.
You have constructed power plants that spew out pollution.
Your cars just make me sick.
Driving more is no solution.
And your fertilizers and manure?
Are you positively sure
You want to put Nitrogen dioxide into the air?
This is just a thought… I don’t really think it’s fair.

What are you imbeciles thinking?
I'm an old red spruce tree
And I don't appreciate
what you've been doing to me!
Did you know this acid rain
Takes away my nutrients, every grain
From the soil which allows me to be living?
Acid rain, the neutralizer
Depletes what makes me wiser.
Calcium and magnesium to me are essential.
They disappear! You know it’s detrimental!
Surely your doings are unforgiving.
So when these buffers are almost gone
Aluminum ions begin to spawn
From the minerals into the soil
Which is cause for great turmoil
Because for plants like me, that is a poisoning.
The chemicals flow into the streams
Killing fish and causing scenes
Around the world, it’s called a dead zone.
And degradation of the limestone
Cement and marble of architecture… understand it?
Have you noticed? You’re ruining our planet.

Why, why, why, why are you doing this to me?
If I weren't in the water you could see my tears
Flowing like a river to the sea.
The acid rain falls into my home
Killing my friends and family.
But the casualties range farther
Than a simple brook trout like me.
It affects the whole food chain
From a plant, to a bird, to everything as far as the eye can see.
The continued assault of acid rain
Is unbalancing everything into catastrophe.
Can you please, please help me for I fear that I am next?
Please can you do this for a sad and scared brook trout like me?

I'm so angry by what everyone is doing.
The pollution we've made is making a mess of everything.
You fools! That's right, I'm yelling!
My name is Lisa Jackson and I'm the administrator for the EPA
It's my job to protect the environment from wasting away.
Fine, if you don't care about the trees, soil, and animals
But maybe you'll care if you or your children are dying.
Yes, that's right, acid rain affects us too, there’s no denying.
Do you understand what I'm saying?
Acid rain when inhaled, yes, it will smite us.
It will kill us early through asthma and bronchitis.
Economically, acid rain is devastating.
The fishermen have finished debating
Over why their fish are withering away
It’s time to stop, so let’s stop today.
Let’s save the fish, both star and cray
Both animals and humans, the vast array.
Acid rain won’t prevail long
But we all need to wake up and smell the roses
That is… before they're gone.

A Call to be Made (Period 4 Group A Fourth Draft)

[The setting is Cologne, North Rhine-Westphalia; Germany, 1966. Alexandre and Gisela Sinclair await a phone message from an old friend in the United States. A career diplomat, Alexandre has been stationed in Germany since the end of the Second World War. He has encountered miraculous success in his endeavors, culminating in a politically and economically beneficial marriage to the daughter of the current chancellor. As the couple wander into their opulent sitting room, a mish-mash of ivory and silver charms, the dim silence succeeding last night’s soiree resounds through the walls of the lofty estate, barely masked by the slight drone of rain.]


Alexandre: [sourly] Where is Mitzi? I sent for schnitzel and the news ages ago!

Gisela: [scornfully] But you sent her out not even ten minutes ago. Really, Alexandre, [raising her eyebrows] you have been quite tactless lately.

Alexandre: [tensely] Oh, have I? [catching himself] I suppose I have. [sighing] I don’t mean to go on like this, Gisela, but this weather irritates me. [glancing outside]

[Gisela strides over and gently places a delicate hand on her husband’s shoulder]

Gisela: You’re just exhausted from the party last night—it was wonderful, wasn’t it?—I’m sure Oberlin’s call will cheer you up.

Alexandre: [giving Gisela a slight smile] We’ll see.

[Outside, a cab door closes; the maid steps through the door and fastened her umbrella, striding quickly towards the kitchen door.]

Gisela: Oh! That’s Mitzi. She was quick.

Mitzi: Guten Morgen, Frau Sinclair. Good morning Mr. Sinclair. [She hands the paper to Gisela and prances off to the maids’ quarters]

Gisela: Danke, Mitzi! [laughing]

Alexandre: [stepping in] Say, where are the—

[the phone rings and both sets of eyes in the room dart toward the jangling console sitting on the marble counter]

Alexandre: I’ve got it, Dear. Will you go inquire about the schnitzel? [hinting at the girl dashing down the hall] Hello?

Voice on the other end: You’re under arrest!

Alexandre: [shocked] W-what?

Voice on the other end: For not contacting your best friend in 20 years.

Alexandre: [relieved, but slightly irked] Oberlin! You truly had me, you crazy fool; you wouldn’t believe what a relief this is. I’ve been looking forward to this for a long time.

Oberlin: As have I, although it bothers me that this conversation hasn’t happened until now…Necessity has brought me here. [pauses] Have you heard about the rain?

Alexandre: [confused] The rain? Oberlin McNally, did you call me just to talk about the weather? It hasn’t let up all month over here. Sometimes it comes down as snow, and then rain. You should really see the flooding.

Oberlin: The rain, Alex, the rain! [hauntingly, barely a whisper] Acid rain.

[His face stricken with horror, Alexandre takes a moment to comprehend the situation; he wanders through the French doors and falls onto the newly upholstered overstuffed polar bear loveseat.]

Alexandre: [quietly] How bad?

Oberlin: The animals, their very existence has been altered by changes in the environment! The base of the food chain –phytoplankton and other microorganisms that grow in lakes, rivers, and streams – has been decimated by acidification. The poor critters are emaciated… and angry.

Alexandre: [concerned] Not the animals!

Oberlin: Oh, yes, the animals! And the ecosystems as well.

Alexandre: [pacing back and forth] How did this happen?!

Oberlin: [flatly] Following the war, our country focused on industrialization and turned a blind eye on the environment. The economic benefits were enormous, but came at a high cost to ecosystems everywhere - increased SO2, SO3, NO2, and CO2 emissions caused highly acidic precipitation all over Europe.

Alexandre: [questioningly] These compounds are acid anhydrides. How does a compound without hydrogen produce acid rain?

Oberlin: Nitrogen oxides such as NO2 reacts with H2O in the air to form HNO3, sulfur oxides such as SO2 and SO3 react with H2O to form H2SO3 , and CO2 reacts with H2O to form H2CO3. When the sky opens up, it unleashes these compounds as acid rain. The acid rain falls upon the earth where bases such as calcium and magnesium lay. Now, these are usually insoluble, but they are susceptible to reacting with acid rain. When they do react—

Alexandre: [completing the puzzle] –They are washed away, never to be utilized again by the plants and ecosystems that so desperately depend on them!

Oberlin: This is only the beginning; these unnaturally occurring gases are toxic. Lives are at stake.

[Alexandre gazes across the courtyard at the ancient stone artifacts that litter the gardens. He is disgusted to see each drop of rain splash across their milky surface, for he knows that in several decades, acid rain will have erased their intricate beauty.]

Oberlin: [determined] The reason I call is to delineate the future. Germany’s rapid industrialization has, unbeknownst to you, slowed its own long-term growth. You must exert your influence towards greater emissions regulation it’s too late, for the future of Germany, for the future of the world as we know it!

[The phone call ends. On the other end of the line, a man sits weeping silently in his chair, having reached an epiphany and feeling good about protecting the ecosystems of Europe. At this moment, Gisele walks in.]

Alexandre: [frozen, standing on the veranda, soaked in the acidic solution] We have to…

Gisela: [perplexed] What, mein Liebling? Why are you standing in the rain, come inside! You’ll catch cold.

[He saunters through the doors and grips the shoulders of his noble wife with his icy fingers.]

Alexandre: [still gripping] Gisela, a day may come when the courage of men fails, when we forsake our friends and break all bonds of fellowship. But it is not this day. This task is imperative.

Gisela: [not grasping the predicament] Is this about the schnitzel? I can run and get them myself. [worried] Don’t punish Mitzi: she’s young, she just forgot.

Alexandre: [his face set like stone] No, it’s not about that. That is as insignificant as a grain of sand in the great Sahara Desert. We are talking about the condition of Mother Nature’s jewel: the good of greater mankind.

[Fixing his eyes on his wife’s defined visage, she had never looked so striking.] Gisela, is your father in his office?

Gisela: [slightly dazed] … Yes.

Alexandre: [unwavering] I think we have a phone call to make.

Acid Rain is Devastating, Period 5, Group D, 4th and Final Draft

Hello, and welcome to this informative speech on the negative effects of acid rain. As I'm sure you all are aware, I am Tony Hawk, and I'm here to tell you that life isn't all about popping a kick flip or doing a casual mctwist. There are dark sides to this planet, and one of the darkest things is the deviating menace known as acid rain. I used to think that acid rain was no big deal. I assumed that the only harm that it did to plants was fall on them and corrode their leaves and what not. Recently I realized that the effects of acid rain can last on an environment for hundreds to thousands of years. It isn't that acid rain simply burns plant life.

Acid rain's most dangerous effects is that it strips the land of all Calcium ions and Magnesium ions, both of those ions are staples of life as we know it, and it pollutes the water and air which can harm many organisms. This can harm an ecosystem along with its species, and can be a catastrophic phenomenon for forests around the world. The process through which the land is stripped of its Calcium and Magnesium ions is quite interesting. The Calcium is stored in the soil in insoluble compounds usually like Calcium carbonate or Calcium hydroxide. Originally scientists thought that acid rain didn’t affect the Calcium and Magnesium ions, but they were false. These compounds are bases that are insoluble in soil, and will stay insoluble until they react with acids found in acid rains to form soluble products and water. Once the soluble products and water are formed then the Calcium, or Magnesium, is stripped from the land and is taken very far away through streams and underground water. This can have a devastating effect on the environment. All of the plant life needs the Calcium to grow and survive but once the Calcium is stripped from the land, it takes a really long time to get it back. This isn't just a one year problem I'm talking about, and reducing the emissions of sulfur isn’t enough. This is a problem that will last for your lives and it is important that we fight acid rain to help our forests and lakes survive.

The way acid rain affects the water is just as bad as the depletion of Calcium and Magnesium. If you go to a lake and see that it is really clean and can see all the way to the bottom, you might think it is really healthy and good for it’s organisms. But, in a lot of cases the water only looks clean because the algae and the plankton are all dead. This happens when acid rain falls into the lake. When acid rain falls upon lakes, rivers, streams, etc., it can cause the water to become more acidic than normal. The Calcium level at Hubbard Brook has shrunk by more than 50% in the last forty-five years. The life forms can no longer live in the water because they cannot adapt to the sudden change in pH. What eventually happens is only a few species that can handle the acidity survive and the rest die, which greatly affects the biodiversity in the ecosystem and the food chain. When the biodiversity and food chain get affected in a negative way, this will overall change the ecosystem’s species composition and could possibly kill off more organisms due to the lack of food.

So how does acid rain directly affect humans? Acid rain itself is no more dangerous than normal rain. It will not hurt you if you walk on it or burn you if you swim in it, but the gases that are in acid rain such as Nitrogen oxides and Sulfur dioxide are harmful to humans. These gases react with water to form acid rain, and it isn't that acid rain is dangerous to us, but those gases are poisonous. Most of those gases aren't formed naturally on Earth, but mankind has found ways to create it’s own poisons. Scientists have found that these gases have been known to cause premature death and illness. There fortunately is a way for humans to help stop the formation of gases. We can support the Clean Air Act and cut back on fossil fuel use and gas emissions. It is important to understand acid rain. It is important to fight it because even though it will take a long time to make it better, it doesn't take that much time to make it a lot worse. It is devastating to the environment and harmful to human health, and it is important for us all to try and stop acid rain in it's tracks.

Lastly, acid rain affects not only humans and the environment, but it also affects the economy. As you can now see, acid rain isn’t just a simple droplet of water, when acid rain hits a lake or river, some of the fish will die. On a small scale this is devastating. A fisherman would no longer be able to catch the amount of fish needed to support himself and this would make his life a disaster. Now on a larger scale, when looking at buildings and statues, the once fine brick or stone has now become eroded and less attractive. The price of the statues and buildings depreciates with each shower of acid rain, making your once expensive possession cheaper and cheaper. The owner of something that is getting destroyed by acid rain could probably take out insurance on what they own, but this will only keep them from losing money. The real issue is the fact that acid rain has and always will erode things that are made of brick and stone, and unless we as humans do something about it, and this problem could become even more devastating.

Period 5, Group A, Post 4 (Final)

Dear Editor of The Forest Acorn,

Subject: Raising Mass Awareness about the Damaging Effects of Acid Rain

Through your esteemed newspaper, I am honored to speak on behalf of the inhabitants of The Forest about the growing threat of acid rain.

Following frequent rainstorms, residents of The Forest have noticed a decrease in the food supply. Alarmed by my dwindling amount of berries, I quickly brought together a group of intellectuals to determine the cause. Those that joined me in this assembly of scientific minds included Orville the Owl, Socrates the Squirrel, and Tina the Trout.

We have attributed this dramatic change in our ecosystem to acid rain. Acid rain is becoming a major issue in our forest, and something needs to be done about it.

The activities of our human "superiors" are the major causes of acid rain. They pollute the air with car and power plant emissions, causing large amounts of sulfur dioxide, sulfur trioxide, and carbon dioxide to accumulate in the atmosphere. Another major contributor of pollution is farms. Their use of fertilizer and their disposal of our friends'—the pigs’—fecal matter cause an excess of nitrogen dioxide to gather in the atmosphere. These gases combine with water droplets in clouds to form acid rain.

Once acid rain falls, it chemically reacts with nutrients and minerals in the ground, like calcium and magnesium. The compounds containing these elements neutralize the acid rain, but are consequently leached from the soil. As a result, we lose that natural buffer against the rain’s acidity, leaving plants and microbes vulnerable. Furthermore, these nutrients are essential for the growth of organisms; without them, life dependent upon the soil for sustenance withers and dies. This is why many inhabitants of The Forest have noticed a dramatic decrease in foliage to feed upon.

Acid rain also runs off into lakes, rivers, and streams. It poses a direct threat to organisms within those bodies of water; low pH levels, for instance, can even directly kill fish, insects, and plants. In areas with already low biodiversity, this can be devastating. Tina the Trout has been telling us of the problems it has been giving her fellow water breathers; acidity in the water has been making it so that their eggs do not hatch, preventing their children from ever being born. Because of all the fish being gone, most of the land roamers that feed on fish are now dying of hunger and can no longer feed their young.

Whatever happens to us will also affect our human "overlords." If acid rain kills off a large number of us forest folk, human populations could tumble into even greater food crises. Moreover, while acid rain is not concentrated enough to directly harm humans, the gas particles that cause it can lead to lung problems. Acid rain can also hurt human economies. The loss of fish could be the death knell of fishing industries; the impairment of tree growth could cripple logging industries; and acid rain could slowly break down buildings, statues, and other structures. All of these things, combined with the destructive effect acid rain has on crops, will dissolve the world in an acidic solution. Governments will crumble into anarchy. Economies will crash, making food the sole currency. Mafias will emerge. What remains of the animal kingdom will be hunted to extinction.

To prevent this dark future, I suggest a series of campaigns aimed at raising both human and animal awareness. The outspoken local activist, Peggy the Pigeon, has suggested a massive movement: "Defecation Day." On D-Day the pigeons of the world will unite against a common enemy: the automobile. Why defecate on statues that will be dissolved by acid rain anyway? Preserve your ammo. Peggy has taken the first leadership role in this campaign against acid rain, and I implore you, the animal kingdom, to make similar efforts. We must act NOW to prevent this bleak future!

Sincerely,

Bernard the Bear

Period 4; Fourth Draft; Kenzie, Nick, Alyssa, Praneeth

Dear Mr. President,

I am writing this letter to you today on behalf of my forest, my fellow Sasquatches, and most importantly, myself.Acid rain is becoming a major issue in my neck of the woods. It's killing the trees, it's killing the fish - it's killing almost everything! In my opinion, the killing of trees is the worst part. How am I supposed to hide from all these tourists that come here every single day if there aren't any trees? I can't just keep scaring people off all the time. It's bad enough that some people already know I exist; we don't need the whole world knowing it, too.

I think you know what the main cause of acid rain is, because I know you are a very smart man. But just in case you don't know, I will tell you. Acid rain is caused by emissions of acid anhydrides such as nitrogen oxides and sulfur oxides given off by the burning of fossil fuels such as coal and oil. These substances pollute our atmosphere. Then, when it rains, these anhydrides react with the rain water to produce an acidic solution.

When acid rain is created, it does some serious damage. It raises the acidity of lakes, causing many types of plankton and other small organisms to die. These tiny organisms aren't the only ones affected by acid rain - all aquatic life, including the fish, can die out! Acid rain leaches aluminum from the soil which seeps into bodies of water and can poison the aquatic life. If the fish die what are my friends, the eagles and bears, going to eat? The answer is nothing. Sure, bears can eat other things like berries, but guess what? Acid rain kills plants and trees too! This is caused by the depletion of calcium in the soil that the plants and trees really need to survive. If these plants and trees are gone, the food chains will be corrupted and cause my whole ecosystem to be destroyed. So, what am I supposed to eat when the largest organisms begin to die out? I'll tell you what! I could start eating people! And I know, Mr. President, that you do not want me to start eating people.

It isn’t only the forest that is damaged by acid rain but the human world is as well. Acid rain can erode buildings and cause permanent damage to monuments. Repairing these damages would cost money that could be spent more efficiently. Acid rain can also have an effect on human health. When sulfur and nitrogen oxides are released into the air, they react with the atmospheric gases which people inhale. These new compounds can damage people’s lungs, especially humans suffering from asthma.

There are many simple precautions your race can take to prevent acid rain from damaging my wonderful forests. For starters, I think you can pass more laws to restrict the emissions of gases such as NO2 and SO3. I know your government passed the Clean Air Act a while ago, and it has helped. However, over the past few years the damages of acid rain have really increased. I think it is time for you to step in and say, "Hey! I believe that we need to extend our efforts to minimize acid rain as much as possible!" And then follow through with it! Because let me tell you something right now, Mr. President. If you don’t take any action to put an end to acid rain, then you will probably be the first to be eaten. And trust me; I know how to get past all of your fancy security.

Sincerely,
King Sasquatch

Period 5, Group F, Draft Four

Dear Mr.Bigman,

I know you're busy with all your presidential duties man, but I have a bone to pick with you. Early this week it rained at my commune. I went into the fields the next day and all the beautiful flowers I had just planted were dead. Mr. President, man, you have to understand my agony. I spent three afternoons working on perfecting the earth with fertilizers and tilling up the top soil, and then the rains came and ruined all my hard work. I wrote a haiku about it, to portray my raw emotions:
As toxic rain fell

the rich soil was left for dead

Nothing will be grown


Mr. President, can you still read the emotions in my words? It's the entire government's fault, man. I know it's a sick plan to brain wash your citizens. You and your "scientists" claim to be trying to help our mother earth- LIES, corporate American LIES! You sit in your fancy chair laughing at people like me planting our gardens in useless soil. I've read the articles, I've heard the rumors. The natural calcium and magnesium are missing in our soil, your acidic rains of sulfuric and nitric acids are ruining the top soil, and are causing our green world to deteriorate, man. We all know that cars, farms, and factories are the highest producers of these terrible monsters that destroy anything in their path. So you say you've tried to help out- nobody believes you. There are hundreds of articles that show how other countries are dealing with their acid rain problems yet the "Great United States of America" didn't want to join everyone else in protecting our planet. You could have made laws that limit the amount of exhaust by farms and large factories. All the sulfur dioxide and carbon dioxide is killing the planet! The main cause for my flowers being killed, man. The big, rich factory owners put all of it in the air, and no one says anything! My flowers are dead because of them! There are plenty of ways you can stop them, but then we're hurting "capitalism". If you don't want to deal with them, man, then you could at least have added calcium and lime to the soil, but that would have been "too expensive". Is it really too expensive? Can you put a price on our dear Mother Earth? No, I didn't think so. My fellow peace activists and I don't believe your scams. The government lies to us. Our poor universe is dying, and it’s all because the fixes were “too expensive". I am trying hard to comprehend the government tactics man. This just doesn't seem right to the nature of our dear mother earth. Trees are dying, rivers and lakes are polluted with acidic solutions. I'm just trying to save our planet man, one flower at a time.

Peace,


Hyde

Period 5, Group G, 3nd Draft

Dear Senator Johnson,

My name is Dr. Adam Miller, a scientist studying the effects of acid rain on the environment along with several other colleagues at the Brookings Institution. We have been studying forest ecosystems across the country in hope to better understand the detrimental effects of acid rain in these ecosystems. We have come to many conclusions in our research, and that is why I am writing on behalf of all of us here at the Brookings Institution.

It has come to our attention that you voted in favor of the Clean Air Interstate Rule. While we applaud you for this vote to reduce sulfur emissions, this piece of legislation has proved ineffective. The Clean Air Interstate Rule has eliminated the ecological gains of the U.S. Clean Air Act. We strongly urge you to help right this terrible wrong.

It has been shown time and time again that acid rain is increasingly harmful to our environment. It is caused by sulfur and nitrogen emissions which mix with water in the atmosphere to create acid rain. The acid rain then mixes into the soil and creates more problems. The acid neutralizes the minerals in the soil such as calcium. Without these precious nutrients, plants are unable to grow. This does horrendous damage to the ecosystem. It also exacerbates the problem of global warming. When there are fewer plants to get rid of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere and put oxygen back into the atmosphere, global warming accelerates.

Our research shows that ecosystems take a very long time to recover from the effects of acid rain. It will take tens, if not hundreds, of years for the levels of soil nutrients to return to levels seen before the Industrial Revolution. However, by reducing sulfur and nitrogen emissions, we can assist the return of ecosystems to a natural state. The Clean Air Act accomplished this, reducing sulfur emissions by 67%, allowing ecosystems to regenerate. Unfortunately, the Clean Air Interstate Rule has gotten rid of those gains and is threatening to return to our old ways of polluting the environment and causing acid rain.

And so, we scientists urge you to push for new legislation. We wish to see you get rid of the new Clean Air Interstate Rule and to reinstate the Clean Air Act. Why should we have gotten rid of something that worked so well? We urge you to be the spear point for reform. This needs to be a priority, not only for the environment, but for the sake of the human race. We hope to be hearing, sometime in the near future, of new reform coming from Washington and wish you luck in this endeavor.

Sincerely,
Dr. Adam Miller and the scientists of the Brookings Institution

Period 5, group F, draft 3

Dear Mr.
Bigman,

i know you're busy with all your presidential duties man, but i have a bone to pick with you. Early this week it rained at my commune. I went into the fields the next day and all the beautiful flowers i had just planted were dead. Mr. president, man, you have to understand my agony. I spent three afternoons working on perfectingthe earth with fertilizers and tilling up the top soil, and then the rains came and ruined all my hard work. I wrote a haiku about it, to portray my raw emotions:

As toxic rain fell

the rich soil was left for dead

Nothing will be grown

Mr. President, can you still read the emotions in my words? It's the entire government's fault, man. I know it's a sick plan to brain wash your citizens. You and your "scientists" claim to be trying to help our mother earth- LIES, corporate American LIES! You sit in your fancy chair laughing at people like me planting our gardens in useless soil. I've read the articles, I've heard the rumors. the natural calcium and magnesium are missing in our soil, your acidic rains of sulfuric and nitric acids are ruining the top soil, and are causing our green world to deterioate, man. We all know that cars, farms, and factories are the highest producers of these terrible monsters that destroy anything in their path. So you say you've tried to help out- nobody believes you. there are hundreds of articles that show how other countries are dealing with their acid rain problems yet the " Great United States of America" didn't want to join everyone else in protecting our planet. You could have made laws that limit the amout of exhaust by farms and large factories. You could have added calcium and lime to the soil but that would have been "too expensive". Is it really to expensive? Can you put a price on our dear mother earth? No , I didn't think so. My fellow peace activists and i don't believe your scams. the government lies to us. our pooor universe is dying, and its all because the fixes were too "expensive". I am trying hard to comprehend the government tactics man. This just doesn't seem right to the nature of our dear mother earth. trees are dying, rivers and lakes are polluted with acidic solutions. I'm just trying to save our planet man, one flower at a time.

Peace,

Hyde

Period 5, Group C, 3rd Draft

SCIENCE REPORT

To all concerned human beings:

For Okinawa native, Kame Ogido, seaweed and algae is major part of a low-calorie, plant-based diet that will help give her and her fellow Okinawans an average life expectancy of eighty-two years. Okinawans have the longest life expectancy in the world. Ogido is eighty-four years old, and she is in wonderful shape for living a lot longer. For Ogido, this is her life; she gardens and harvests seaweed and algae along the coasts to keep her healthy. Although, recently life under the water has faced a life-threatening problem. For some, rain is a blessing, for others, an annoyance. For Ogido, it is changing her entire lifestyle.
Acid rain has become a growing problem among the environment and many ecosystems. On the opposite side of the planet, the lakes in the Adirondack region of New York, are suffering. The marine life, including, fish, algae, and phytoplankton had been nearly wiped out in some of these lakes. On a good note, recovery efforts have been successful and the underwater organism population is on the rise.

Deadly Precipitation

Baseball size hail is bad, radioactive snowflakes are terrible, but there is precipitation drastically worse than the precipitation previously listed. Acid rain is known to have gruesome long lasting effects, out lasting and the main contributor to this problem, ourselves. Our notorious lust for energy and our strong reliance on nonrenewable resources has introduced the presence of acid rain and its harsh effects on our lifestyle. Acid rain is created by sulfur produced by the burning of fossil fuels. The main contributor of sulfur is coal-fired power plants. The great nation of the United States of America is currently the leader in the noxious emissions. There are over 600 of these power plants in America, all of which contribute to 54% of our nation’s energy. This dependence on nonrenewable energy is really hurting our nation in many of different ways. Depleting this nonrenewable resource and acid rain are all long lasting effects of using this energy source. We might fulfill our appetite for energy but just when we need it the most , we won’t have it. Other effects will be too much for us to handle and BOOM, the extinction of the human race. Yes, this is kind of a big deal. The immediate stop of using this energy is necessary for the survival of all humans. Just saying.

Cap and FAIL

The so called “solution” to the effects of coal burning is infamously known as “Cap and Trade”. The real truth behind this is that cap and trade does just about NOTHING for us. Cap and trade also known as – emissions trading – is a huge problem. Some guys from ENRON and some other fellows from Wall Street, like Goldman Sachs, who gave us the subprime mortgage crisis, are the people to blame for cap and trade. How emissions trading works you ask? Well, pretty much all scientists agree we need to reduce the amount of carbon in the atmosphere to 350 parts per million if we want to avoid a climate disaster. For the U.S. that means reducing our emissions by a whopping 80% before the year 2050! Which isn’t impossible but America has troubles trying to do stuff like this. They way these genius’ want to do it is setting a cap on how much a certain nation can emit. Governments would give out emissions permits and every year there would be fewer and fewer permits till we reach our goal. That’s where the trading comes in. Some companies would start using innovative new ways to get their energy and they could “trade” their permits to other companies. It sounds great right? Except there are these little loop holes in cap and trade that make it such a terrible investment.
First off, there is this thing known as “free permits” or also cap and giveaway. What happens is industries get these free permits so they pollute more and more. So, in all actuality, carbon emissions went up and the only part that did work was the polluters made lots of money. Oh I forgot to mention, all the money they make comes from our pockets!! Sounds like a great plan huh? Second, is offsetting, which is when a company supposedly removes carbon from the atmosphere which can be sold to a polluter so they have permission to emit more. The real danger with this is it’s hard to know if these companies are actually taking out carbon because if they sold these permits to a polluter but the company didn’t actually take out any carbon, the polluter will just pollute more and our emissions will shoot right past our goal and the whole effort will be lost. Third is known as distraction. Which is like we’re coming up with all these great ideas but we are really “putting the cart in front of the horse” if you’re capping what I’m emitting. If a cap and trade proposal is actually stopping us from capping carbon, it’s a very dangerous distraction. Right now, all we can do as concerned human beings is let the world know that this is a problem that needs to be fixed now. Raise our voices and stop this crisis that could lead to the end of our lives and worse the end of the human race!!!

Careful Celebration

While all of these other topics seem very despondent, there is some very good news for the fish in the Adirondack lakes. Times are getting better and the rain is becoming cleaner. These lakes went from clear to murky which is a good thing for the organisms that live in these northern lakes. That means that algae and other water plants are starting to grow in the water again. Acid rain would kill off any of the life that lived near the surface and below the water which lead to clearer waters. Now that you can’t see as far down in the water as normal, it’s a good sign for the wildlife of the Adirondack region. As happy as all of this sounds there is still a lot to be done to save our planet from sheer destruction. Good thing as human beings we are smart, and will (hopefully) eventually make the right decision. Although we shouldn’t get our hopes up and celebrate too soon, I think it is necessary for a…careful celebration.

Period 5, Group E, Draft 3

Acid Rain

There once was a planet named Earth,

quite beautiful, always, since birth.

Then came acid rain,

so it's now viewed with disdain;

These toxins have ruined its worth.

This phenomenon’s not very basic;

when anions, often sulfuric,

wash away calcium,

also magnesium,

buffer’s gone—soil’s acidic!

SO2 formed by the burning of coal,

and nitrogen oxides—they both play a role.

To form acid rain

which is such a pain,

ecologically they take their toll.

Human lungs breathe in some SO2,

and also absorb the NO2.

Bronchitis appears,

and asthma, we fear,

is caused by the acid rain too.

Fixing means buffers are replaced;

But continuing at this pace,

we will never be done,

the solution will be none,

because the money is being erased.

Acids kill all biodiversity,

as it was proven in the university.

Animals lose sons and

fishes are poisoned,

by smog and exhaust from the city.

Lower PH than fish could take,

it left us with an empty lake

Less crustaceans and fish,

fewer plants than we wish,

acid rain, oh our hearts you did break.

Humans put sulfur in the air;

Much more than ought to be there.

Moisture + SO3

means acidity,

causing statues to need repair.

Acidified statues stand broken.

The future they seem to betoken.

Is our world cursed?

Or can this be reversed?

Oh what horrible monsters we’ve woken!

Period 4 Group B, 3rd Draft

Dear Mr. President,

I am writing this letter to you today on behalf of my forest, my fellow Sasquatches, and most importantly, myself.

Acid rain is becoming a major issue in my neck of the woods. It's killing the trees, it's killing the fish - it's killing almost everything! In my opinion, the killing of trees is the worst part. How am I supposed to hide from all these tourists that come here every single day if there aren't any trees? I can't just keep scaring people off all the time. It's bad enough that some people already know I exist; we don't need the whole world knowing it, too.

I think you know what the main cause of acid rain is, because I know you are a very smart man. But just in case you don't know, I will tell you. Acid rain is caused by emissions of acid anhydrides such as nitrogen oxides and sulfur oxides. These substances pollute our atmosphere. Then, when it rains, these anhydrides react with the rain water to produce an acidic solution.

When acid rain is created, it does some serious damage. It raises the acidity of lakes, causing the many types of plankton and other small organisms to die. These tiny organisms aren't the only ones affected by acid rain - all aquatic life, including the fish, will die out! Then, what are my friends, the eagles and bears, going to eat? The answer is nothing. Sure, bears can eat other things like berries, but guess what? Acid rain kills plants and trees, too! This is caused by the depletion of calcium in the soil that the plants and trees really need to survive. If these plants and trees are gone, the food chains will be corrupted and cause my whole ecosystem to be destroyed. So, what am I supposed to eat when the largest organisms begin to die out? I'll tell you what! I could start eating people! And I know, Mr. President, that you do not want me to start eating people.

There are many simple precautions your race can take to prevent acid rain from damaging my wonderful forests. For starters, I think you can pass more laws to restrict the emissions of gases such as NO2 and SO3. I know there was the Clean Air Act that your government passed a while ago, and it has helped. However, over the past few years the damages of acid rain have really increased. I think it is time for you to step in and say, "Hey! I believe that we need to extend our efforts to minimize acid rain as much as possible!" And then you follow through with it! Because let me tell you something right now, Mr. President. If you don't come up with better laws to put an end to acid rain, then you will probably be the first to be eaten. And trust me; I know how to get past all of your fancy security.

Sincerely,
King Sasquatch

Period 5, Group D, Draft #3

Hello, welcome to this informative speech on the negative effects of acid rain. As I'm sure you all are aware, I am Tony Hawk, and I'm here to tell you that life isn't all about popping a kick flip or doing a casual mctwist. There are dark sides to this planet, and one of the darkest things is the deviating menace known as Acid Rain.I used to think that acid rain was no big deal. I assumed that the only harm that it did to plants was fall on them and corrode their leaves and what not. Recently I realized that the effects of acid rain can last on an environment for hundreds to thousands of years. It isn't that acid rain simply burns plant life. Acid rain's most dangerous effects is that it strips the land of all Calcium ions and Magnesium ions, both of those ions are staples of life as we know it, and it pollutes the water and air which can harm many organisms. It can also pollute the air and water, which can harm an ecosystem along with its species. This can be a catastrophic phenomenon for forests around the world.The process through which the land is stripped of it's Calcium and Magnesium ions is quite interesting. The Calcium is stored in the soil in insoluble compounds usually like Calcium carbonate or Calcium hydroxide. Originally scientist thought that acid rain didn’t effect the Calcium and Magnesium ions, but they were false. These compounds are bases that are insoluble in soil, and will stay insoluble until they react with acids found in acid rains to form soluble products and water. Once the soluble products and water are formed then the Calcium, or Magnesium, is stripped from the land and taken far far away through streams and underground water. This can have a devastating effect on the environment. All of the plant life needs the Calcium to grow and survive but once the Calcium is striped from the land it takes a really long time to get it back. This isn't just a one year problem I'm talking about, and reducing emissions of sulfur isn’t enough. This is a problem that will last for your lives and it is important that we fight acid rain to help our forests and lakes survive.
How acid rain affects the water is just as bad as the depletion of Calcium and Magnesium. If you go up to a lake and see that it is really clean and can see all the way to the bottom you might think it is really healthy and good for its organisms. But, in a lot of cases the water only looks clean because the algae and the plankton are all dead. This happens when acid rain falls into the lake. When acid rain falls upon lakes, rivers, streams, etc., it can cause the water to become more acidic than normal. The Calcium level at Hubbard Brook has shrunk by more than 50% in the last forty-five years. The life forms can no longer live in the water because they cannot adapt to the sudden change in pH. What eventually happens is only a few species that can handle the acidity survive and the rest die which effects the biodiversity in the ecosystem and the food chain.
So how does acid rain directly effect humans? Acid rain itself is no more dangerous than normal rain. It will not hurt you if you walk on it or burn you if you swim in it, but the gasses that are in acid rain such as Nitrogen oxides and Sulfur dioxide are harmful to humans. These gases react with water to form acid rain, and it isn't that acid rain is dangerous to us, but those gases are poisonous. Most of those gases aren't formed naturally on Earth, but human kind has found ways to create it's own poisons. Scientists have found that these gases have been known to cause premature death and illness. There fortunately is a way for humans to help stop the formation of gases. We can support the Clean Air Act and cut back on fossil fuel use and gas emissions.It is important to understand acid rain. It is important to fight it because even though it will take a long time to make it better, it doesn't take that much time to make it a lot worse. It is devastating to the environment and harmful to human health, and it is important for us all to try and stop acid rain in it's tracks.

Period 4,Group B, Draft 3

Hey, I just thought you should know
that your rain is hurting me.
I'm the soil of this Earth
And from down here there are many things that i can see.
You have constructed power plants that spew out pollution.
You make me sick when you drive so excessively.
And your fertilizers and manure put Nitrogen dioxide into the air.
This is just a thought for you from me.

What are you imbeciles thinking?
I'm an old red spruce tree
And I don't appreciate what you've been doing.
Did you know that this acid rain of yours
is taking away the nutrients from the soil which allows me to be living?
Acid rain neutralizes calcium and magnesium which are essential to my growth.
So when there aren't enough of these buffers left due to neutralizing
The acid rain releases aluminum ions from minerals into the soil
And for plants like me this causes poisoning.
Acid rain also puts chemical into streams killing fish and creating dead zones.
Have you noticed the cement, marble, and limestone of architecture degrading?
I am so very annoyed by your species.

Why, why, why,why are you doing this to me?
If I weren't in the water you could see my tears
Flowing like a river to the sea.
The acid rain falls into my home
Killing my friends and family.
But the casualties range further
Than a simple brook trout like me.
It affects the whole food chain
From a plant, to a bird, to everything as far as the eye can see.
The continued assault of acid rain
Is unbalancing everything into catastrophe.
Can you please, please help me for I fear that I am next?
Please can you do this for a sad and scared brook trout like me?

I'm so angry by what everyone is doing.
The pollution we've made is making a mess of everything.
You fools! That's right I'm yelling!
My name is Lisa Jackson and I'm the administrator for the EPA.
It's my job to protect the environment from what you are doing.
Fine, if you don't care about the trees, soil, and animals.
But maybe you'll care if you or your children are dying.
Yes, that's right, acid rain affects us too.
Do you understand what I'm saying?
Acid rain when inhaled into the lungs causes premature death through asthma and bronchitis.
Economically, acid rain is devastating.
The fisherman of lakes and rivers are devastated
By all of the fish that are dying.
You idiots need to wake up and smell the roses, that is before they're gone.

Period 5, Group A, Post 3

Dear Editor of The Forest Acorn

Subject: Raising Mass Awareness about the Damaging Effects of Acid Rain

Through your esteemed newspaper, I am honored to speak on behalf of the inhabitants of The Forest about the increasing threat of acid rain.

Following frequent rainstorms, inhabitants of The Forest have noticed a decrease in the food supply. Alarmed by my dwindling supply of berries, I quickly assembled a group of intellectuals to determine the cause. Those that joined me in this group of scientific minds include Orville the owl, Socrates the squirrel, and Tina the trout.

We have attributed this dramatic change in our ecosystem to acid rain. Acid rain is becoming a major issue in our forest, and something needs to be done about it.

The major cause of acid rain is our human "superiors." They have polluted the air with car and power plant emissions that cause large amounts of Sulfur dioxide, Sulfur trioxide, and Carbon dioxide to be present in our atmosphere. Another major contributor of pollution is farms. Their use of fertilizer and disposal of our friends' (the pigs) fecal matter causes an excess of Nitrogen dioxide in our atmosphere. These deadly gases combine with water to form acid rain.

Once acid rain falls, it chemically reacts with calcium and magnesium in the earth. The calcium and magnesium neutralize the acid rain. As a result, we lose that natural buffer against acid. If the amount of calcium and magnesium becomes depleted, the acid rain will affect plant life. This is why many inhabitants of The Forest have noticed a severe decrease in foliage to feed on.

Acid rain also runs off into lakes, rivers, and streams. It poses a direct threat to plant and animal life within those bodies of water. One of the major threats of the high acidity in the water is that it kills all of the wild life in it. Tina the trout has been telling us of the problems it is giving her fellow water breathers; it is making it so their eggs do not hatch so their children are never born. Because of all the fish being gone most of the land roamers that feed on fish are now dying of hunger and can no longer feed their young.

Whatever happens to us will also affect our human "overlords." Any human who ravages the flesh of one of our brethren runs the risk of becoming ill and possibly dying. In addition, if acid rain kills off a large population of us forest folk; the humans will tumble into an even greater food supply predicament. This, added to the devastating effects acid rain has on crops, will dissolve the world in an acidic solution. Governments will crumble into anarchy. Economies will crash and be replaced by the sole currency of food. Mafias will emerge. What remains of the animal kingdom will be hunted to extinction.

To prevent this dark future, I suggest a series of campaigns aimed at raising both human and animal awareness. The outspoken local activist, Peggy the pigeon, has suggested a massive (bowel) movement: "Defecation Day." On D-Day the pigeons of the world will unite against a common enemy: the automobile. Why defecate on statues that will be dissolved by acid rain anyway? Preserve your ammo. Peggy has taken the first leadership role in this campaign against acid rain, and I implore you, the animal kingdom, to make similar efforts.
We must act NOW to prevent this bleak future!

Sincerely,

Bernard the bear

A Call to be Made (Period 4, Group A, Third Draft)

[The setting is Cologne, North Rhine-Westphalia; Germany, 1966. Alexandre and Gisela Sinclair await a phone message from an old friend in the United States. A career diplomat, Alexandre has been stationed in Germany since the end of the Second World War. He has encountered miraculous success in his endeavors, culminating in a politically and economically beneficial marriage to the daughter of the current chancellor. As the couple wander into their opulent sitting room, a mish-mash of ivory and silver charms, the dim silence succeeding last night’s soiree resounds through the walls of the lofty estate, barely masked by the slight drone of rain.]

Alexandre: [sourly] Where is Mitzi? I sent for schnitzel and the news ages ago!

Gisela: [scornfully] But you sent her out not even ten minutes ago. Really, Alexandre, [raising her eyebrows] you have been quite tactless lately.

Alexandre: [tensely] Oh, have I? [catching himself] I suppose I have. [sighing] I don’t mean to go on like this, Gisela, but this weather irritates me. [glancing outside]

[Gisela strides over and gently places a delicate hand on her husband’s shoulder]

Gisela: You’re just exhausted from the party last night—it was wonderful, wasn’t it?—I’m sure Oberlin’s call will cheer you up.

Alexandre: [giving Gisela a slight smile] We’ll see.

[Outside, a cab door closes; the maid steps through the door and fastened her umbrella, striding quickly towards the kitchen door.]

Gisela: Oh! That’s Mitzi. She was quick.

Mitzi: Guten Morgen, Frau Sinclair. Good morning Mr. Sinclair. [She hands the paper to Gisela and prances off to the maids’ quarters]

Gisela: Danke, Mitzi! [laughing]

Alexandre: [stepping in] Say, where are the—

[the phone rings and both sets of eyes in the room dart toward the jangling console sitting on the marble counter]

Alexandre: I’ve got it, Dear. Will you go inquire about the schnitzel? [hinting at the girl dashing down the hall] Hello?

Voice on the other end: You’re under arrest!

Alexandre: [shocked] W-what?

Voice on the other end: For not contacting your best friend in 20 years.

Alexandre: [relieved, but slightly irked] Oberlin! You truly had me, you crazy fool; you wouldn’t believe what a relief this is. I’ve been looking forward to this for a long time.

Oberlin: As have I, although it bothers me that this conversation hasn’t happened until now…Necessity has brought me here. [pauses] Have you heard about the rain?

Alexandre: [confused] The rain? Oberlin McNally, did you call me just to talk about the weather? It hasn’t let up all month over here. Sometimes it comes down as snow, and then rain. You should really see the flooding.

Oberlin: The rain, Alex, the rain! [hauntingly, barely a whisper] Acid rain.

[His face stricken with horror, Alexandre takes a moment to comprehend the situation; he wanders through the French doors and falls onto the newly upholstered overstuffed polar bear loveseat.]

Alexandre: [quietly] How bad?

Oberlin: The animals, their very existence has been altered by changes in the environment! The base of the food chain –phytoplankton and other microorganisms that grow in lakes, rivers, and streams – has been decimated by acidification. The poor critters are emaciated… and angry.

Alexandre: [concerned] Not the animals!

Oberlin: Oh, yes, the animals! And the ecosystems as well.

Alexandre: [pacing back and forth] How did this happen?! Tell me, Oberlin! Tell me!

Oberlin: [flatly] Following the war, our country focused on industrialization and turned a blind eye on the environment. The economic benefits were enormous, but came at a high cost to ecosystems everywhere - increased SO2, SO3, NO2, and CO2 emissions caused overly acidic precipitation all over Europe.

Alexandre: [questioningly] These compounds are acid anhydrides. How does a compound without hydrogen produce acid rain?

Oberlin: NO2 reacts with CaOH or CaCO3 to become HNO3, SO2 and SO3 react with H20 to become H2SO3 , and CO2 reacts with liquid H2O to become H2CO3. When the sky opens up, it unleashes these compounds as acid rain. The acid rain falls upon the earth where bases such as calcium and magnesium lay. Now, these are usually insoluble, but they are susceptible to reacting with acid rain. When they do react—

Alexandre: [completing the puzzle] –They are washed away, never to be utilized again by the plants and ecosystems that so desperately depend on them!

Oberlin: This is only the beginning; these unnaturally occurring gases are toxic. Lives are at stake.

[Alexandre gazes across the courtyard at the ancient stone artifacts that litter the gardens. He is disgusted to see each drop of rain splash across their milky surface, for he knows that in several decades, acid rain will have erased their intricate beauty.]

Oberlin: [determined] The reason I call is to delineate the future. Germany’s rapid industrialization has, unbeknownst to you, slowed its own long-term growth. You must exert your influence towards greater emissions regulation it’s too late, for the future of Germany, for the future of the world as we know it!

[The phone call ends. On the other end of the line, a man sits weeping silently in his chair, having reached an epiphany and feeling good about protecting the ecosystems of Europe. At this moment, Gisele walks in.]

Alexandre: [frozen, standing on the veranda, soaked in the acidic solution] We have to…

Gisela: [perplexed] What, mein Liebling? Why are you standing in the rain, come inside! You’ll catch cold.

[He saunters through the doors and grips the shoulders of his noble wife with his icy fingers.]

Alexandre: [still gripping] Gisela, a day may come when the courage of men fails, when we forsake our friends and break all bonds of fellowship. But it is not this day. This task is imperative.

Gisela: [not grasping the predicament] Is this about the schnitzel? I can run and get them myself. [worried] Don’t punish Mitzi: she’s young, she just forgot.

Alexandre: [his face set like stone] No, it’s not about that. That is as insignificant as a grain of sand in the great Sahara Desert. We are talking about the condition of Mother Nature’s jewel: the good of greater mankind.

[Fixing his eyes on his wife’s defined visage, she had never looked so striking.] Gisela, is your father in his office?

Gisela: [slightly dazed] … Yes.

Alexandre: [unwavering] I think we have a phone call to make.

Period 5, Group G, 2nd Draft

Dear Senator Johnson,

My name is Dr. Adam Miller, a scientist studying the effects of acid rain on the environment with several other colleagues at the Brookings Institution. We have been studying forest ecosystems across the country in hope of better understanding the detrimental effects of acid rain in these ecosystems. We have come to many conclusions in our research, and that is why I am writing on behalf of all of us here at the Brookings Institution.

It has come to our attention that you voted in favor of the Clean Air Interstate Rule. While we applaud you for this vote to reduce sulfur emissions, this piece of legislation has proved ineffective. The Clean Air Interstate Rule has eliminated the ecological gains of the U.S. Clean Air Act. We strongly urge you to help right this terrible wrong.

It has been shown time and time again that acid rain is increasingly harmful to our environment. It is caused by sulfur and nitrogen emissions which mix with water in the atmosphere to create acid rain. The acid rain then mixes into the soil and creates more problems. The acid neutralizes the minerals in the soil such as calcium. Without these precious nutrients, plants are unable to grow. This does horrendous damage to the ecosystem. It also exacerbates the problem of global warming. When there are fewer plants to get rid of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere and put oxygen back into the atmosphere, global warming accelerates.

Our research shows that ecosystems take a long time to recover from the effects of acid rain. It will take tens, if not hundreds, of years for the levels of soil nutrients to return to levels seen before the Industrial Revolution. However, by reducing sulfur and nitrogen emissions, we can assist the return of ecosystems to a natural state. The Clean Air Act accomplished this, reducing sulfur emissions by 67%, allowing ecosystems to regenerate. Unfortunately, the Clean Air Interstate Rule has gotten rid of those gains and is threatening to return to our old ways of polluting the environment and causing acid rain.

And so, we scientists urge you to push for new legislation. We wish to see you get rid of the new Clean Air Interstate Rule and to reinstate the Clean Air Act. Why should we have gotten rid of something that worked so well? We urge you to be the spear point for reform. This needs to be a priority, not only for the environment, but for the sake of the human race. We hope to be hearing, sometime in the near future, of new reform coming from Washington and wish you luck in this endeavor.

Sincerely,

Dr. Adam Miller and the scientists of the Brookings Institution

Period 5, Group C, 2nd Draft

SCIENCE REPORT

To all concerned human beings:

For Okinawa native, Kame Ogido, seaweed and algae is major part of a low-calorie, plant-based diet that will help give her and her fellow Okinawans an average life expectancy of eighty-two years. Okinawans have the longest life expectancy in the world. Ogido is eighty-four years old, and she is in wonderful shape for living a lot longer. For Ogido, this is her life; she gardens and harvests seaweed and algae along the coasts to keep her healthy. Although, recently life under the water has faced a life-threatening problem. For some rain is a blessing, for others, an annoyance. For Ogido, it is changing her entire lifestyle.
Acid rain has become a growing problem among the environment and many ecosystems. On the opposite side of the planet, the lakes in the Adirondack region of New York, are suffering. The marine life, including, fish, algae, and phytoplankton had been nearly wiped out in some of these lakes. On a good note, recovery efforts have been successful and the underwater organism population is on the rise.

Deadly Precipitation

Baseball size hail is bad, radioactive snowflakes are terrible, but there is precipitation drastically worse than the precipitation previously listed. Acid rain is known to have gruesome long lasting effects, out lasting and the main contributor to this problem, ourselves. Our notorious lust for energy and our strong reliance on nonrenewable resources has introduced the presence of acid rain and its harsh effects on our lifestyle. Acid rain is created by sulfur produced by the burning of fossil fuels. The main contributor of sulfur is coal-fired power plants. The great nation of the United States of America is currently the leader in the noxious emissions. There are over 600 of these power plants in America, all of which contribute to 54% of our nation’s energy. This dependence on nonrenewable energy is really hurting our nation in many of different ways. Depleting this nonrenewable resource and acid rain are all long lasting effects of using this energy source. We might fulfill our appetite for energy but just when we need it the most in the near future we won’t have it and other effects will be too much for us to handle and BOOM, the extinction of the human race. Yes, this is kind of a big deal. The immediate stop of using this energy is necessary for the survival of all humans. Just saying.

Cap and FAIL

The so called “solution” to the effects of coal burning is infamously known as “Cap and Trade”. The real truth behind this is that cap and trade does just about NOTHING for us. Cap and trade also known as – emissions trading – is a huge problem. Some guys from ENRON and some other fellows from Wall Street like Goldman Sachs, who gave us the subprime mortgage crisis, are the people to blame for cap and trade. How emissions trading works you ask? Well, pretty much all scientists agree we need to reduce the amount of carbon in the atmosphere to 350 parts per million if we want to avoid a climate disaster. For the U.S. that means reducing our emissions by a whopping 80% before the year 2050! Which isn’t impossible but America has troubles trying to do stuff like this. They way these genius’ want to do it is setting a cap on how much a certain nation can emit. Governments would give out emissions permits and every year there would be fewer and fewer permits till we reach our goal. That’s where the trading comes in. Some companies would start using innovative new ways to get their energy and they could “trade” their permits to other companies. It sounds great right? Except there are this little loop holes in cap and trade that make it such a terrible investment.
First off, there is this thing known as “free permits” or also cap and giveaway. What happens is industries get these free permits so they pollute more and more. So in all actuality carbon emissions went up and the only part that did work was the polluters made lots of money. Oh I forgot to mention, all the money they make comes from our pockets!! Sounds like a great plan huh? Second, is offsetting, which is when a company supposedly removes carbon from the atmosphere which can be sold to a polluter so they have permission to emit more. The real danger with this is it’s hard to know if these companies are actually taking out carbon because if they sold these permits to a polluter but the company didn’t actually take out any carbon the polluter will just pollute more and our emissions will shoot right past our goal and the whole effort will be lost. Third is known as distraction which like we’re coming up with all these great ideas but we are really “putting the cart in front of the horse” if you’re capping what I’m emitting. If a cap and trade proposal is actually stopping us from capping carbon, it’s a very dangerous distraction. Right now, all we can do as concerned human beings is let the world know that this is a problem that needs to be fixed now. Raise our voices and stop this crisis that could lead to the end of our lives and worse the end of the human race!!!

Careful Celebration

Although, all of these other topics seem very despondent there is some very good news for the fish in the Adirondack lakes. Times are getting better and the rain is becoming cleaner. These lakes went from clear to murky which is a good thing for the organisms that live in these northern lakes. That means that algae and other water plants are starting to grow in the water again. Acid rain would kill off any of the life that lived near the surface and below the water which lead to clearer waters. Now that you can’t see as far down in the water as normal, it’s a good sign for the wildlife of the Adirondack region. As happy as all of this sounds there is still a lot to be done to save our planet from sheer destruction. Good thing as human beings we are smart, and will eventually make the right decision. Although we shouldn’t get our hopes up and celebrate too soon I think it is necessary for a…careful celebration.

Period 5, Group F, 2nd Draft

Dear Mr. Bigman,

I know you're busy with all your Presidential duties man, but I have a bone to pick with you. Early this week it rained at my commune. I went into the fields the next day and all the beautiful flowers I had just planted were dead. Mr. President, man, you have to understand my agony. I spent 3 afternoons working on perfecting the earth with fertilizers and tilling up the top soil, and then the rains came and ruined all my hard work. I wrote a haiku about it, to portray my raw emotions:

As toxic rain fell

The rich soil was left for dead

Nothing will be grown

Mr. President, can you still read the emotion in my words? It’s the entire government’s fault, man. I know it’s a sick plan to control the environment, to brain wash your citizens. You and your “scientists” claim to be trying to help our mother earth - lies, Corporate American lies! You sit in your fancy chair, laughing at people like me planting our gardens in useless soil. I’ve read the articles, I’ve heard the rumors. The natural calcium and magnesium are missing in our soil, your acidic rains full of Sulfuric acids and un-natural Nitric acids, are ruining the top soil, and are causing our green world to deteriorate, man.

So you say you’ve tried to help out - nobody believes you. Articles claim that adding calcium into the soil would be too difficult, that it would take a decade or more to replenish the buffer chemicals in the soil. My fellow peace activists and I don’t believe your scams. The government lies to us man. Our poor universe is dying dude, and all you, Mr. President, can say is “we’re working on a solution”. Show me facts, show us proof that sulfur emissions are being reduced, and that lime is too expensive to add into the soil.

I am trying hard to comprehend government tactics man. This, to me, just doesn’t seem right in the nature of our world. Trees are dying, rivers and lakes are polluted with acidic solutions. I’m just trying to save our planet man, one flower at a time.

Peace,

Hyde

I used liz's method and just bolded whatever I added or changed.

Lyrics I worked from: http://www.elyrics.net/read/w/wierd-al-yankovic-lyrics/amish-paradise-lyrics.html

Song:http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=10fZLb33uCg

As i walk through the valley where i harvest my grain,
I see my crops have been burned, right after it started to rain.
But my Grandpa hadn't seen that when he was growing up,
So he blamed it on my best friend and his brand new pup.
The next year's harvest was really bad,
So my grandpa and the rest of us were really sad... yo'
So i did some looking on the internet,
And i found something out that was hard to forget.
Now i'm a man full of knoledge, fighting for a cause,
Got this laptop in my hand, and this chem. book full of laws.
So if i finish all my keystrokes, and you finish yer's
We will get this issue solved before they throw us in the hearse.

We've been spending most our lives,
Living in an acid rain strike.
The acids are warlike,
Living in an acid rain strike.
Our calcium compounds are being sacrificed,
Living in an acid rain strike.
The magnesium goes bye-bye,
Living in an acid rain strike.

A politician made a big speech last week,
Calling all the people in the EPA freaks.
He told us that the acid rain was abstract,
And he wanted to overturn the Clean Air Act.
But i ain't never punched a legilator when i felt like it before,
A youngn' with a wrath, will she be something you wont adore.
So listen to me and my buddies and you will agree,
These politicicans ain't know nothing they are just so crazy.

If he succeeds in doing this we will be driven to tears,
As some aquatic life would die out in two or three years.
And i would be looking at all those men with enmity,
As our waters would be teeming with acidity.

There's more runoff, more plant death, and bad affects,
It's plain and clear to see-ee-ee
The world needs to pull together,
So we can live acid rain free-ee-ee.

We've been spending most our lives,
Living in an acid rain strike.
Our ecosystems are in plight,
Living in an acid rain strike.
All our farmers are demoralized,
Living in an acid rain strike.
We will not stop or sacrifice,
Living in an acid rain strike.

Acid anhydrides, hydrogen ions,
Meeting up together, killing our lawns.
Think you're not affected? Think you know it all?
Well i know you will learn once our food chain falls.
I'm the righteous guy all the protesters wanna be.
At my computer every day and night researching for the cause.
So don't be mad, don't get upset,
Cause our loss of magnesium and calcium is making us sweat.

We've been spending most our lives,
Living in an acid rain strike.
We're hit hard by non-metal oxides,
Living in an acid rain strike.
We have to stand together and fight,
Living in an acid rain strike.
Now you have to think twice,
Living in this acid rain strike.

Period 5 Group D Draft #2

Hello, welcome to this informative speech on the negative effects of acid rain. As I'm sure you all are aware, I am Tony Hawk, and I'm here to tell you that life isn't all about popping a kick flip or doing a casual mctwist. There are dark sides to this planet, and one of the darkest things is the deviating menace known as Acid Rain.

I used to think that acid rain was no big deal. I assumed that the only harm that it did to plants was fall on them and corrode their leaves and what not. Recently I realized that the effects of acid rain can last on an environment for years upon years. It isn't that acid rain simply burns plant life. Acid rain's most dangerous effects is that it strips the land of all Calcium ions and Magnesium ions, both of those ions are staples of life as we know it, and it pollutes the water and air which can harm many organisms. It can also pollute the air and water, which can harm an ecosystem along with its species. This can be a catastrophic phenomenon for forests around the world.

The process through which the land is stripped of it's Calcium and Magnesium ions is quite interesting. The Calcium is stored in the soil in insoluble compounds usually like Calcium carbonate or Calcium hydroxide. These compounds are bases that are insoluble in soil, and will stay insoluble until they react with acids found in acid rains to form soluble products and water. Once the soluble products and water are formed then the Calcium, or Magnesium, is stripped from the land and taken far far away through streams and underground water. This can have a devastating effect on the environment. All of the plant life needs the Calcium to grow and survive but once the Calcium is striped from the land it takes a really long time to get it back. This isn't just a one year problem I'm talking about. This is a problem that will last for your lives and it is important that we fight acid rain to help our forests and lakes survive.

How acid rain affects the water is just as bad as the depletion of Calcium and Magnesium. If you go up to a lake and see that it is really clean and can see all the way to the bottom you might think it is really healthy and good for its organisms. But, in a lot of cases the water only looks clean because the algae and the plankton are all dead. This happens when acid rain falls into the lake. When acid rain falls upon lakes, rivers, streams, etc., it can cause the water to become more acidic than normal. The life forms can no longer live in the water because they cannot adapt to the sudden change in pH. What eventually happens is only a few species that can handle the acidity survive and the rest die which effects the biodiversity in the ecosystem and the food chain.

So how does acid rain directly effect humans? Acid rain itself is no more dangerous than normal rain. It will not hurt you if you walk on it or burn you if you swim in it, but the gasses that are in acid rain such as Nitrogen oxides and Sulfur dioxide are harmful to humans. These gases react with water to form acid rain, and it isn't that acid rain is dangerous to us, but those gases are poisonous. Most of those gases aren't formed naturally on Earth, but human kind has found ways to create it's own poisons. Scientists have found that these gases have been known to cause premature death and illness. There fortunately is a way for humans to help stop the formation of gases. We can support the Clean Air Act and cut back on fossil fuel use and gas emissions.

It is important to understand acid rain. It is important to fight it because even though it will take a long time to make it better, it doesn't take that much time to make it a lot worse. It is devastating to the environment and harmful to human health, and it is important for us all to try and stop acid rain in it's tracks.