Acid Rain Can be Good

…for trees, but not for people – Is acid rain, which is caused by pollution, good or bad?) It may not be good for buildings or for US, but it IS good for trees.

After more than 20 years of research, scientists have reached a surprising conclusion: Moderate increases in temperature and nitrogen from atmospheric pollution actually improve forest productivity.

Researcher Andrew Burton has found that the trees grow faster at higher temperatures and store more carbon at greater concentrations of nitrogen, a chemical constituent of acid rain.

But pollution is NOT good for US: New research suggests that there could be a link between high levels of air pollution and the risk of appendicitis. Canadian researcher Gilaad G. Kaplan identified more than 5,000 adults who were hospitalized for appendicitis in Calgary between 1999 and 2006.

Using Environment Canada?s National Air Pollution Surveillance (NAPS) monitors that collect hourly levels of ozone, nitrogen dioxide, sulfur dioxide, carbon monoxide, and particulate matter of varying sizes, he and his team were able to tell that daily changes in air pollution levels were related to the development of appendicitis. There were more appendicitis hospitalizations on “high ozone” days.Art credit: freeimages.co.uk

You can look up the pollution levels on the internet, but if you want to know what day it is (with some wisdom thrown in), get our exquisite crop circle calendar. To learn more, click here and here.

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