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.
Great job! I think that this covers everything quite nicely. Since this is written from the point of view of a senator, I like how you incorporated how past legislation affected the effects of acid rain. It definitely adds to the argument you make. Your last line is a little hackneyed, but it works well. Very nice work!
ReplyDeleteThis is a great piece! I like the point of view of it. If this was a real senator writing this, I believe that he or she would have made a very strong argument. There was only one grammatical error that I found but other than that, job well done.
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ReplyDeleteI really liked this post. The prose is very solid -- the language is varied and descriptive, and grammatically, there aren't many errors. I think that going through a brief history of acid rain and the government's response to it was a good idea, especially in this context. I haven't seen any other group do that, either. Great job. If only more of our actual senators were this eloquent and thoughtful!
ReplyDeleteGood job! I like how you gave a history of the causes of acid rain. I think that you made a good choice of point of view because senators can have a heavy impact(theoretically) on things like acid rain.
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ReplyDeleteThis was really well done. I like how you encorporated the "journey" that acid rain goes through to become as devastating as it is.
ReplyDeleteI thought your blog was very well written. It had a strong beginning and body. I thought that the ending was pretty good, and a little cheezy. Overall you guys covered all of your information very well and supported your argument nicely.
ReplyDeleteYour blog is very well written. I like the way you mix the history and chemistry in one piece with tons of details. good job.
ReplyDeleteI liked the approach you took on this post but I think you could have said more on the effect on the environment
ReplyDeleteThis statement by the senator is very well written. You stated how the problem of acid rain came to be and also explained the causes of acid rain in a very simple way. This absence of scientific jargon is very important as your role is trying to speak to the people of the nation rather than just scientists.
ReplyDeleteThe information in this project is, of course, spot-on accurate and extremely well organized and explained, but other than the political medium y'all weren't super creative with this. This is just my personal opinion, but I know this group has a lot of creativity and I would have loved to see you guys do something a little less straightforward.
ReplyDeleteI agree with the previous comments on how it was well written. You guys did a really good job on giving solid information about acid rain. The viewpoint you chose and how you relayed the message was great!
ReplyDeleteGood job! I thought your speech was very educational; I learned a lot! It was very informative not only on the chemistry, but also on the history of acid rain in America. I thought you did a good job of tying in the story about the senator's life with the basic facts.
ReplyDeleteVery well written! You did a great job in giving me, as a reader, the historical backround of efforts that have been taken in the past to prevent acid rain, as well as proposing a bill to increase measures promoting these efforts. Also, you were very elaborate in describing the formation of acid rain and its affect on the ecosystem. Great work!
ReplyDeleteNicely written! i found one grammatical error but i liked the speech! The fact the you incorporated the amount of history was very informational! Congrats!
ReplyDeleteNice job of combining the historical and chemical elements of acid rain. The idea of writing a letter as a Senator was a good one, since it presents all the aspects of acid rain in a serious and factual light.
ReplyDeleteGreat post! I liked your choice of using the view of a senator, and how you went into detail of what legislation has done to help in the past. Also very accurate and creative.
ReplyDeleteI really enjoyed reading this. It shows that you know what you're talking about. Your use/choice of words wasn't convoluted or confusing, and that made the whole piece flow nicely. Well done!
ReplyDeleteGreat job! I like the use of history in the beginning and how it explained the start of acid rain. I thought having your point of view as a senator was an effective way to include the necessary information.
ReplyDeleteThis is really good! I really enjoyed the bit of history in the begining. Your word choice was also very good.
ReplyDeleteI really enjoyed reading this post. Encorporating the history was a good idea. The whole post had a really good flow. My only critisism would be to add more about how without calcium and magnesium acid rain releases aluminum from the minerals in the soil which is what poisons the plants.
ReplyDeleteI really appreciated the fact that you wrote this as a piece of legislation. The vocabulary really emphasized your details. The flow was great. Overall, a great piece to read!
ReplyDeleteFantastic work! It had a good flow. I appreciated that the point of view was from someone who experienced acid rain first hand. The last paragraph was my favorite because it gave some hope to the situation.
ReplyDeleteVery well written! I liked how you guys weren't extremely technical so ordinary people were still able to understand. I liked the point a view and overall you did a great job!
ReplyDeleteThats a really good flowing. written by a sentaor great idea! way to go
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