Ecodetectives 4/28/17

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This week, we learned about a serious fish kill in the gray area. A little boy named Juan Tuno (aka Want-to-know) is trying to find out why. So far, we think it could be Ken Unballe's water slide, LaToya Faktorie's toy factory, or Anton Alogue's tree cutting business. Ken Unballe owns a water slide. Every Wednesday, Ken's employees let out all of the chlorinated water from the pool into the river. The chlorine in the water means that the fish won't be able to breathe the oxygen in the water. And the water slide opened five years ago. The fish began to die five years ago. It makes sense that the water slide might be killing the fish. Second, LaToya Faktorie's toy factory could be killing the fish. The toy factory could be causing acid rain to fall on the rivers that the fish are in, making the lakes to acidic for water and plant life. Also, the oil refinery is over there, which could be causing pollution. LaToya is determined to show the chairman of the board that she is NOT polluting the air. Also, there are a lot of highways and cars in Synchrony City, which could be contributing to the acid rain problem in the Rafta river and the lake Adaysicle. But how could the Toy factory be contributing to acid rain on the other side of the bay, you ask? Well, the toy factory could be polluting everything if the wind blew around the pollutants. But the Fo and Misterssippi rivers, which are closest to the Oil refinery and toy factory, are not acidic. Why? Well, the bank of the rivers is limestone. Limestone is a special rock which can neutralize the acid, making the river safe for fish life. So why is that not happening in the Rafta river? The Rafta river banks are granite. Granite can NOT neutralize acids, so that river is being affected. Anton Alogue is in the tree cutting business. Every time he cuts down a tree, the tree dies. The tree's roots held in lots of sediment. But when the tree dies, the sediment falls into the river. Why is this a problem? Well, the sediment clogs up the fish's gills, making them unable to breathe. Also, the sediment is dark, so if there is enough, the sun will be attracted to the river water, making it so hot the fish could die.