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!