Thursday, May 1, 1980
University Daily Kansan
Acid rain plague not yet staining the Kansas plain
By KATHY BRUSSELL
Staff Reporter
Residents of Kansas may breathe easier knowing that they will probably be passed over by one of the latest plagues of nature—acid rain.
No, acid rain is not a gift from on high to users of hallucinogenic drugs.
Rather, it is the atmospheric result of an increased amount of certain types of air pollutants.
ACID RAIN, which can also occur in the form of snow, hail or solid particles, is formed from sulfur and nitrogen oxides in the burning of fossil fuels, such as coal.
The oxides combine with moisture in the atmosphere to form dilute sulfuric and nitric acids, which are weak solutions in comparison with laboratory acids but are strong enough to have serious environmental effects when they fall back to Earth.
Within the United States, acid rain does
History of drinking traced through art
The history of drinking and society's attitudes toward it can be traced to prehistoric times through art, according to a study by Mary L. Berman of psychology at Harvard Medical School.
Mendelson will give a slide presentation to the Society for Neurosis at 7 tonight at 7 p.m. The lecture will illustrate various attitudes toward drunkenness, hangovers and the treatment of alcoholism.
Donald Goodwin, chairman of psychiatry at the University of Kansas Medical Center, said, "Mendelson traces the history of antiquity, time, using dates dating back to antiquity."
Mendelson also parallels modern at-
tention toward sex and sexuality, Goodman said Mendelson's extensive slide show is the result of his travels around the world taking part in them.
He has served as chairman of the National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism and now heads the Harvard alcohol and drug research laboratories.
not fall mainly on the plains, but in the mountainous regions of the Northeast, where it has already been blamed for killing fish in hundreds of lakes.
However, the sources of the problem, coal-fired and oil-fired power plants, are in the Midwest, primarily in Illinois and the Ohio River Valley.
SULFUR AND NITROGEN compounds emitted from these plants are picked up by wind currents and carried eastward for up to four days. During this time, they are converted to acids, which fall back to earth in the Northern states, patterned *pattens* over the Northeastern state.
This phenomenon has resulted in a new war between the states.
Residents of New York, New Jersey and other northeastern states have been calling for tighter air pollution controls to reduce the amount of oxides released into the air.
Spokesmen from the industrial midwestern states, however, say that no one has proved acid rain to be harmful and that any toxic substances would be politically unacceptable.
Luckily for Kansans, the western states have generally escaped the growing furor over acid rain.
The clash over pollution controls is expected to grow even more severe under President Carter's plan to convert power plants to coal.
ACCORDING TO SEVERAL local authorities, Kansas should not be significantly affected by the problem, at least not in the near future.
Only a handful of coal-fired power plants are operating in the state. Traditionally, the majority of electrical power plants in the state rely on combustible fuel that burns very cleanly.
Coal burned in Kansas plants comes primarily from Wyoming and is low in sulfur, according to Randall Noon, assistant director of the Kansas Energy Office.
The relatively high-sulfur coal mined in Kansas is shipped out of the state, he said.
Supplies of natural gas inevitably diminish, however, and an increasing proportion of natural gas is converting to the use of coal or a combination of fuels. Jan Johnson, another
In the early 1970s, 94 percent of the electricity generated in Kansas was produced by natural gas plants, she said.
BY 1978, the last year for which figures are available, that amount had dropped to 40 percent.
By the early 70s, the electrical power
plants saw that natural gas wouldn't be available in the quantities needed in the future," Johnson said.
"They planned to go to other fuels even before the adoption of federal regulations requiring conversion to coal."
This year, about half of the electricity produced in Kansas will come from coal-fired, or partially coal-fired, plants, she said.
Coal consumption in the state has skyrocketed from 425,000 tons in 1972 to more than 7 million tons in 1978. she added.
However, these figures are still relatively low when compared to those in Missouri, where coal-fired plants are produced by coal-fired plants. In 1978, more than 20 million tons of coal were burned in the US.
EVEN IF ELECTRICAL plants in Kansas were to significantly increase their output of harmful oxides, any fallout in the form of acid rain would occur "downwind" from the state according to Bob Schreiber, air staff of Natural Resources Department of Missouri.
"It takes time for sulfur dioxide to be converted to sulfuric acid." Schreiber said yesterday, "and that involves a couple of days of transport time.
"Any acid rain generated in Kansas would drop out in Illinois or Michigan."
In addition, the soil and water systems of Kansas are not as susceptible to the effects of acid rain as those in the Northeastern states. Schreiber said.
"The lakes in Missouri and Kansas have a natural buffering capacity for acid rain," he said.
"They contain a limestone base that actually keeps the water basic."
Buffers are chemicals that can "trap" an acid and minimize its effects on soil and water.
LAKES IN THE northeastern states have a granite base that cannot provide this buffering effect, Schreiber said.
Scientists in New York and other states have said that acid rain poses a real threat to the plants and wildlife in the Northeast.
In lakes and streams, acid rain kills certain species of fish and amphibians and disturbs the normal growth rates of algae and other plant life.
Extremely acidic rainwater also tends to remove trace metals and plant nutrients from the soil, causing fear that affected soil will suffer lower crop yields.
So far, acid rain does not appear to be a direct threat to human health. However, if plants, fish and wild animals are affected,
people are likely to be affected as well, scientists say.
THIRTY OR 40 years ago, rain was almost as pure as distilled water. Most of the rain falling on the eastern United States is due to a high juice, and some is as acidic as vinegar.
Some short term remedies for dealing with acid rain have been employed, but they do not prevent the formation of scientists say. Acid rain will continue to form as nitrogen and oxygen oxides react with water.
The Environmental Protection Agency says it knows enough about acid rain to begin widespread regulatory action, and a national policy is supposedly being implemented.
However, some people are skeptical of any immediate action on the part of the EPA.
Ruling on nationally allowed pollution levels may not be in the near future, Schreiber said, largely because the EPA has a way to treat all power plants fairly.
"An across-the-board cut in emissions is not the answer; it's an over-kill approach," he said.
"The EPA needs to identify the culprits and make rulings on them in an orderly manner."
Notice:
Student Legal Services
has moved.
We are now located in
117-Satellite Union.
925 Iowa 841-8848
G. P. Loyd's West presents T.G.I. ROCK The best in LIVE ROCK & ROLL!
J. T. COOKE
Don't miss this Rock & Roll Night TONITE AT G.P.LOYD'S WEST
MAY 3RD
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All The Beer You Can Drink
All The Beer You Can Drink for a $1.75 Donation
University-Community Service Scholarship/Award
As a result of the efforts of many students on the evening of April 20, 1970 in the saving of furniture, art objects and invaluable service to firelighters during the Kansas Union fire, some insurance carriers decided to present to the Kansas Union a cash gift. After presentation of the gift, it was suggested that school shipwards from the interest on the gift,
Qualifications
- Regularly enrolled students at the University of Kansas at the time of application (spring term) and at the time of the receipt of the award (fall term).
- Service to the University and/or the Lawrence community.
- Scholarship, financial need and references will be of minimal consideration in application reviews.
Applications
- More information and applications available in the SUA office, Kansas Union.
- Applications must be received by 5:00 p.m., Tuesday, May 6, 1980 in the SUA office, Kansas Union. Interviews to be held May 8, 1980.
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