Background Investigation

Readings
Prior readings that sparked our interest would include newspapers, textbooks, tweets and facebook posts regarding pollution. Some of the newspapers would be the Straits Times, the New Straits Times (online) and online news from websites such as huffingtonpost.com. The textbooks would be the ones we currently use in school, as well as 'O' Level textbooks that have gone further in-depth into the topic and gained our attention.

• "Soil pH or soil reaction is an indication of the acidity or alkalinity of soil and is measured in pH units. Soil pH is defined as the negative logarithm of the hydrogen ion concentration. The pH scale goes from 0 to 14 with pH 7 as the neutral point. As the amount of hydrogen ions in the soil increases the soil pH decreases thus becoming more acidic. From pH 7 to 0 the soil is increasingly more acidic and from pH 7 to 14 the soil is increasingly more alkaline or basic." ——SUNY College of Environmental Science and Forestry
• "...before attempting to raise or lower your soil's pH, you should first conduct a soil test to determine your current soil pH. Contact your local county Extension office for advice on collecting and sending a soil sample to a laboratory for analysis.
• Some soils in Iowa (especially those in western Iowa) are slightly alkaline to very alkaline, with pH's that range from 7.2 to 9.5. This is due mainly to the limestone parent material from which the soils were formed. In addition, home builders may remove topsoil during construction and replace it with more alkaline subsoil. Alkaline building materials, such as limestone gravel and concrete, and high pH irrigation water may also contribute to a soil's alkalinity." ——Eldon Everhart, Department of Horticulture (IOWA State University)

Experiences

Previous experiences regarding the topic we have chosen would be in-class discussions about pollution and how it will affect the environment around us, especially plants and animals, which have direct effects on humans. Another previous experience would be after the Fukushima nuclear disaster, where several people, including our families, tried to stay away from eating food produced in Japan. This was to keep away from radioactive pollution as much as possible.

Observations

Since there is a thriving market for products that require chemicals in the manufacturing process, the amount of chemical pollution in the world has increased, changing the abiotic factors of environments near polluted areas.