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Section 28
Acid Rain
50 years ago, no one talked about acid rain.
Then we didn't really know the harm it was causing to the world.
Today almost every adult and school child is aware of acid rain and its effects.
It affects people all around the world.
Even those who are not responsible for its creation suffer from it.
It is caused mostly by the burning of fossil fuels.
Fossil fuels are coal, gas, oil and peat and create carbon when they are burned.
Carbon is both necessary and dangerous in our world.
Plants and trees need carbon dioxide, CO2, to breeze.
Carbon monoxide, CO, however, is poisonous to us.
When carbon and other elements get into the air, they mix with water in the clouds.
The clouds move around the world and produce rain.
This rain is like an acid and it destroys trees, plants, rivers and fish when it falls.
The more trees it destroys, the more difficult it is for nature to redress the balance.
The burning of fossil fuels must be controlled in order to assist in the prevention of acid rain. |