40th Session Issues
Acid Rain
DEFINITION
Acid precipitation is a phenomenon that destroys the worlds lakes, forest and marine life. Although technically called acid precipitation, the world recognizes this deadly compound as acid rain. Acid precipitation is not a direct pollutant. It is formed in a complex process that is not entirely understood by scientists.
What is Acid Rain?
The term acid rain is misleading because there are two kinds of deposition and both have equally grave consequences. Deposition is what is deposited on the surface, one is wet and the other is dry. Wet deposition is a process that scientists do not understand. Acid rain is wet deposition that also occurs in the form of snow, fog or even dew. Dry deposition is the aerosols that are directly deposited on trees, lakes and buildings.
Acid rain is actually formed when sulfur dioxides from fossil fuels (coal and oil) are fired in power plants, smelters and industrial boilers and are then released into the atmosphere. Nitrous oxides are also released from these structures but it mainly eminates from the exhausts of automobiles. Air currents transport these gases which react with sunlight, oxidants and catalysts in the atmosphere. These reactions convert the pollutants to acids. The compounds formed are sulfuric acid and nitric acid. Wet acid deposition in the form of acid rain occurs when these toxins become waterborne and fall to the earth. Air currents can carry the pollutants for thousands of miles.
BACKROUND
The phenomenon of acid rain was first detected by a Swedish scientist, Dr. Svante Oden in 1967. Dr. Oden "...reported a pattern of increasing acid precipitation over time and geographical area." The normal acidity level of rainfall is 5.6 on the pH scale of 0-14. Acid rain has a level averaging 4-5 and readings as low as 2 have been reported. This event triggered alarm worldwide as the evidence of the destruction that acid rain caused mounted.
Acid rain has been on earth probably as long as rain has fallen. Volcanoes and forest fires create a natural acidity level in rain. Since the Industrial Revolution began two hundred years ago, the atmosphere has been bombarded with the same chemicals, but in higher concentrations. The volume of man-made acidic pollutants swiftly gained on nature.
The benefits of rain are that it cleans the atmosphere and provides nutrients to the soil. Instead, acid rain leaches the vital nutrients and changes the chemistry of lakes and top soils. This unnatural chemical imbalance accumulates in lakes and destroys fish life. Their gills are destroyed while a heavy mucus develops and asphyxiates the fish. The process does not occur in a short period of time. The pollutants can fall directly into bodies of water or they can accumulate in snow banks and contaminate the lakes as the weather warms. As toxins concentrate at high levels in the water, fish populations drop, growth is retarded and newborn fish are deformed. Lakes in the eastern United States, Canada, and the Scandinavian nations have become known as dead lakes. Dead lakes are unable to sustain fish due to prolonged exposure to acid precipitation. These lakes are able to sustain life forms, such as algae and insects, that belong to an ecosystem that is far less complicated. Ironically, dead lakes are characterized as unusually clear and are a shade of bright blue. 17,000 of Sweden's 100,000 lakes have been destroyed due to acid rain. Acid rain has also contributed to destroying marine life on the Atlantic coast of the U.S. 25% of the toxins contaminating Chesapeake Bay are from nitrogen compounds that have been deposited by acid rain.
On land, acid rain poses another problem. Trees, particularly conifers are susceptible to vitamin deficiencies such as a lack of magnesium, potassium, and calcium. These deficiencies result in the yellowing of the branches and needle tips, and eventually leads to death. Other ailments are premature defoliation and dieback. Acid rain has decimated two-thirds of Germany's Black Forest and one quarter to one half of the forest area in Austria, Czechoslovakia, Luxembourg, the Netherlands, Switzerland and West Germany.
The effect of acid rain on animals has been apparent in birds and other wildlife. Small songbirds on the banks of lakes in Lapland have "shown fewer eggs, less hatching success and soft or missing shell material." The birds eat the acidic insects that feed and live on the contaminated lakes. Polish biologists believe acid rain is responsible for the decrease in the roe deer's antler size and trophy value during the past twenty-five years because the deer's habitat has been contaminated by acid and heavy metal deposition.
Much of the world's historical architectural heritage is endangered as well. St. Paul's Cathedral, Westminster Abbey and Lincoln Cathedral along with Romanesque and medieval statuary is deteriorating at an accelerated rate because of acid rain. Other structures that are deteriorating due to acid rain and dry deposition are the caryatids of the Acropolis in Greece and Egypt's temples at Karnak. Monuments in the United States such as the U.S. Capitol and the Statue of Liberty have been damaged as well.
The long-term effects on humans are more difficult to assess. It has been found that the ultraviolet rays that humans need to produce vitamin D is blocked by the hazy sulfur-polluted air which causes acid rain. Recent data confirms that this blockage of light produces higher susceptibility to breast and colon cancers in the regions of the world with high acid rain deposits. The use of fossil fuels in Great Britain led to the "development of severe episodes of smoke haze" and acid fog in 1952 and some 4,000 people died from complications of inhalation of smoke particles in which sulfur dioxide was absorbed. Britain solved this crisis by regulating types of fuel used to reduce smoke emissions.
Nations Ban Together
Each country releases and absorbs different rates of poisonous emissions. Acid depositions, both wet and dry, is unaware of political boundaries as they are carried in the atmosphere by air currents. The devastation has hit much of Europe and the effects of acid rain have been rapid in the past ten years. Several European nations realized this was a global problem.
Nations such as Norway produce safe percentages of emissions but end up with high levels of pollutants. Ninety-two percent of Norway's pollutants are imported from industrial nations such as Great Britain, Poland and West Germany.
Originally proposed in 1983, European nations joined together to create the 30% Club. The name refers to the goal of cutting sulfur emissions by thirty percent from their 1980 base level by 1993. The organization was proposed by Finland, Norway and Sweden. Later Austria, Canada, Denmark, France, West Germany, the Netherlands, and Switzerland joined the founding nations. Belgium, Bulgaria, Byelorussia, Luxembourg, Liechtenstein, East Germany, Czechoslovakia, Italy, the Ukraine and the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics were soon to follow suit.
The United States' President, George Bush, has proposed an acid rain bill to Congress. He proposed reduction of emissions by fifty percent. Canada has continuously requested that the U.S. cut down on hazardous emissions. Acid rain has been a tense issue between the neighboring nations due to the fact that Canada is a victim of U.S. pollutants from the Midwestern and northeastern industrial states. Another conservative leader, Great Britain's Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher, shocked her environmental critics when she focused her 1988 speech before the Royal Society about pressing environmental concerns such as acid rain.
DEVELOPING NATIONS AND ACID RAIN
Several developing nations have not yet acquired economical electrical service that is reliable. Nations such as Brazil and the Philippines have utilized high technology in combination with their natural resources. These nations use the most efficient form of electricity -hydroelectric power- and have thereby avoided a potential source of acid rain. Unfortunately, many developing nations are unable to do this because of indebtness and lack of trained personnel. Hydroelectric power plants are not trouble-free either. They are costly to construct and local villages must be relocated so construction may begin. Hopefully, Brazil and the Philippines can set a precedent for nations to discontinue the burning of fossil fuels and use a less damaging form of energy.
UNITED NATIONS INVOLVEMENT
Acidification of the environment is recognized as an important issue. It is stressed that fossil fuels are the major source of energy used by industrial and developing nations. The burning of these fuels causes severe damage to the environment. Many governments are not utilizing the available technology or assisting with cost efficient incentives to encourage private enterprises to provide renewable sources of energy. The recommended action is for governments to join together with systematic energy plans to save the only environment we have (Environmental Prospect to the Year 2000 and Beyond). Since the UNEP was formed to direct awareness on environmental problems, the UNEP program, Global Environmental Monitoring Systems (GEMS) was established to collect long term data about the effects of world pollution. GEMS is the major research committee with data that is uniform and comparable. The UNEP has also made decisions concerning the logging of data on acid rain. The UNEP Governing Council addressed the potential dangers of acidification in developing nations.
SUGGESTIONS FOR RESEARCH
Research materials on this topic are vast, especially between the years of 1984-1988. In addition to research on the topic of acid rain, other topics to explore are electricity, automobile pollutants and air pollutants. The best sources of information are scientific and political magazines though there are a few good books on the subject. In addition try to find your country's perspective on the following: electrical power sources, automobile distribution and regulations, natural resources, major export products, industrial capacity.
Sources
- Carpenter, Betsy, "What goes up must come down," U.S. News and World Report, July 25, 1988.
- Flavin, Christopher, "Electricity For A Developing World: New Directions," World Watch Paper 70, June 1986.
- Grady, Denise, "Something Fishy About Acid Rain," Time, May 9, 1988.
- Herman, Robin, "An Ecological Epiphany," The Washington Post, Dec. 5, 1988.
- Hordijk, Leen, "A Model Approach to Acid Rain," Environment, March 1988.
- Langan, Patricia A., "Acid Rain," Fortune, Nov. 21, 1988.
- La Bastille, Anne, "Acid Rain How Great A Menace," National Geographic, Nov. 1981.
- Luoma, Jon R., "SO2, UV, Vitamin D, and Calcium: The Acid-Rain Cancer Connection," Audubon, 1988.
- Mohnen, Volker A., "The Challenge of Acid Rain," Scientific American, August 1988.
- Monastersky, R., "Acid dew: What it does," Science News, Oct, 17. 1987.
- Norton, Robert E, "Yes, they mind if we smoke," U.S. News & World Report, July 25, 1988.
- O'Sullivan, Dermont, "European Concern About Acid Rain is Growing," C & EN, Jan. 28, 1985.
- Peterson, I, "De ja vu: Acid Rain in China," Science News, June 27, 1987.
- Postel, Sandra, "Altering the Earth's Chemistry: Assessing the Risks," World Watch Paper 71, July 1986.
- Raloff, J., "Clouds and Fog: Key Acid Rain Actors," Science News, Nov. 17, 1984.