The Adirondacks

The Adirondacks are a group of mountains surrounded by many lakes

and rivers, that cover over 5,000 square miles in the northeastern

part of New York. There are a lot of large tourist villages on every

lake. Motor boating and other water activities take place on almost

every lake in the area. It is a vacation paradise for thousands. But,

industrial emissions from Canada and the Ohio river valley always drift

to this area and cause acid rain. This silent killer is destroying these

beautiful lakes and their surrounding watersheds. Acid rain has an

adverse effect on the lakes, and their surrounding watersheds, of the

Adirondacks in New York State.

Acid rain is defined as chemically polluted rainfall. It's causes are:

coal burning plants, industrial factories, smelters, and car emissions.

It's formed by water molecules combining with the sulfur dioxide

emitted by the burning of coal and with nitrogen oxide from auto

emissions. The result is an acidity level that's harmful to fish, wildlife,

plants, and trees. Already, 1,200 lakes in the U.S. have been

completely acidified so the lake water is unfit for human use and little

or nothing can live in it.

Such is the case in the Adirondacks, which are a group of mountains

surrounded by many lakes and rivers. They cover over 5,000 square

miles in the northeastern part of New York state. It's an area where

large resort villages are around the Saranac river and Lake George.

Lumbering and mining for iron and graphite go on in this area and it

was once a place for major industry. Unfortunately, this is an area

where acid rain has become a regular part of the water that flows

through it.

In recent years, acid rain hasn't really been in the news because

people have felt that the problem has been taken care of so,

therefore, it's not around anymore. However there has been no

evidence that the acidification of lakes in the Northeastern U.S. has

stopped or even slowed down. The analysis of sediments from lakes

in the Adirondacks has shown that acidity started rising in the 1930's

and 40's and has been rising steadily ever since. There are two

possible reasons for this. Scientists have been studying the chemistry

of the rain and they've discovered that while the deposition of

sulfuric acid has decreased in the last two years, the deposition of

nitric acid has increased. This means that the acidity of the rainfall

hasn't really changed. Decades of acid deposition have affected the

buffering capacity of sensitive watersheds so acidification in very

sensitive lakes can continue even if acidity is decreased.Researchers

have found that geology and weather contribute to the increased

acid sensitivity at high altitudes. The rainfall and lake's collection of

rain runoff tend to go up with the altitude in the Adirondacks. So

higher lakes usually receive more acid rain. Also, these high altitude

lakes tend to sit near thin soil leading to more acidity. All of this

means that more fish kills will occur because the only life these lakes

can support are water insects and yellow perch.

With all these problems acid rain has made possible over the past

fifty years, there are bound to be some solutions. A possible solution

is "liming". This form of treatment is named for the limestone

commonly used in this procedure. It involves applying mineral powders

or pellets directly into affected lakes and streams. It brings about an

almost immediate and potentially revitalizing increase in ph. The

water containing the buffering agent is flushed out of the system and

is replace by untreated water. This replacement will occur after a

year or two. This treatment also limes the land draining into the lakes

and streams. Watershed liming would prevent the potential of toxic

over buffering that has resulted from some of the poorly controlled

lake treatments. This is the fastest remedy for surface-water

acidification and most effective method known because of its

chemical neutralization.

Limestone can also prevent acidification. If a lake had a large deposit

of lime on its bottom, then it would be difficult for it to ever become

too acidic. One example of a lake with a limestone bottom is Lake

George, near the northeastern New York state border. Lake George is

thirty-five miles long and on average two miles across. At its deepest

point of 400 feet, there are most likely species of fish that man has

not yet discovered. Lake George is teeming with life of all kinds and is

in no danger of becoming too acidic. But, Jabes Pond, which is less

than a 1.5 mile hike away from water's edge at Silver Bay, is almost

completely dead. Jabes Pond is a mile long and around 1/2 a mile

across. Lake George and Jabes Pond both receive the same rain,

which is highly acidic, but Jabes Pond is virtually lifeless while Lake

George is very much alive. This is because of the difference in size

and the natural deposit of limestone at the bottom of Lake George

and the absence of lime in Jabes Pond.

Many scientists urge that measures to control acid rain begin

immediately. The most direct action would be to cut off pollution at

the source. Regulations require that new coal-burning plants must

install expensive scrubbers in their smokestacks to remove most of

the dioxides. Other possible measures include burning only low-sulfur

oil or coal, or removing the sulfur from coal with high sulfur content.

Amendments have been proposed to the Clean Air Act of 1970 that

are designed to reduce sulfur and nitrogen emissions. The costs of

such measures are considerable, however, and who should pay them

continues to arouse controversy.

I think that acid rain is a horrible thing. The Adirondack area is very

special to me. I spend my entire summer and many weekends

throughout the school year in my house on Lake George. I always go

hiking on various mountain trails and I am amazed at the amount of

ponds and lakes I find. I am aggravated by the amount of dead,

sesspool ponds I see. I hope that the government will pass stronger

laws that will regulate the rate of emissions. I do not wish to see my

favorite vacation area destroyed before my children are born.