12
Tuesday, April 26, 1988 / University Daily Kansan
Rain's 'sewage' is unseen killer
Oxygen-eating algae hurting East Coast fish and plant life
The Associated Press
WASHINGTON — Acid rain's "sewage from the sky" is an important and unrecognized contributor to the death of marine life in East Coast estuaries and coastal waters, an environmental group said yesterday.
Nitrate compounds originating in the atmosphere, mostly as nitric acid, appear to contribute about 25 percent of total nitrogen flowing into the environment andaid the Environmental Defense Fund in a report by staff scientists.
Ammonium compounds from the atmosphere, mostly originating in the evaporation of manure, contribute another 14 percent of the bay's nitrogen load, according to the report.
The damage comes not from the acidity, which is immediately neutralized by salt water, but from the overload of nutrients provided by nitrates and ammonium. These fertilizers encourage "blooms" of algae that use up oxygen dissolved in the water, making it difficult for other plants and fish to live. The "blooms" also cut off light necessary for bottom-anchored plants to grow.
By contrast, the fund estimated the nitrogen contribution from fertilizer run-off at 34 percent, municipal and industrial discharges at 23 percent and direct
run-off from animal waste at 4 percent.
Michael Oppenheimer, an atmospheric scientist on the fund staff and one of the study's authors, said, "This should change forever our view of the acid rain problem," and she in the form of nitrogen compounds are a major pollutant of inshore waters.
Although the fund's scientists concentrated on Chesapeake Bay, they said there was evidence these airborne compounds also are contributing to problems in Delaware Bay, Albemarle-Pamlico Sound in North Carolina, Long Island and Connecticut and the New York Bight in the Atlantic Ocean off the coast of New York and New Jersey.
10 KW or larger
Nationwide, a little more than 21 million tons of nitrogen oxides are emitted from all sources, about one third from motor vehicle exhausts, one third from power plant smokestacks and one seventh from industrial boilers.
Oppenheimer called for enactment of one of the acid rain control bills pending before Congress.
"With the exception of new auto controls, the states on the Atlantic Seaboard can begin this program on their own, but they cannot finish it," he said. "A strong federal role is absolutely necessary."
How acid rain occurs
Sulfur dioxide and nitrogen oxides enter the atmosphere in smoke and exhaust. These compounds are released wind and changed into acids in the atmosphere.
They fall to the earth as tiny particles of rock with rain clouds and fall as acid rain.
Highly concentrated acids in lakes, streams and marine living organisms are believed to cause massive destruction of the Gulf of Mexico North America and other areas.
Knight-Ridder Graphic
N.J. tower gazers keep watchful eye on season's blazes
The Associated Press
MIZPAH, N.J. - Seven days a week when it is sunny, Henry Hasselman sits alone in a closet-sized room 100 feet in the air and stares into space.
And in the heart of forest fire season, Hasselhan may do that several times a day.
But if a puff of smoke appears, the fire tower observer must quickly spot it, plot its location with help from the officer and report in by short-wave radio.
From March 15 to May 15, when humidity is low and leaves have not yet covered bare trees to provide shade, the warming sun may spontaneously ignite the dry forest floor, said Ben Petnirt, an assistant warden with the state Division of Parks, Forestry and Recreation.
Hasselman his job may seem monotonous, but his window-lined "office" has one of the finest views in all of southern New Jersey. It also swows in a wavy pier.
"Sometimes it gets boring, sometimes it gets very busy," the 33-year-old Atoe resident said. "A lot of times you just sit here on. Rainy days, you either go home or down to the shop to help work on the fire trucks."
Tower watchers put in lighter hours during the summer, then go back to the seven-day-a-week routine for about a month in autumn when leaves fall and dry out. They spend the winter in the basement of their new fire trucks from the frame up. The job pays $14,000 to $20,000 a year.
The curious sometimes ask to visit
the towers, and Hasselhan never stops them.
stops him.
"A lot of them reach the third flight and can't make it because they get scared of the height." he said.
At 9:45 a.m. each day, Hasselman checks the weather gauges at the foot of the tower. Then, after catching his breath from the long climb up the staircase, he checks in with Petriin in the Division C office in Mays Landing.
Division C covers still-forested sections of southern New Jersey including the Pinetlands and six suitcases, built in the 1930s, scanning a total of roughly 100,000 acres, Petriin staff. Division A handles the northwestern corner of the state, and Division B covers covertops in forests in the middle of the state.
of as yesterday, more than 257 fires, most of them minor, have been doused in Division C, covering the state's six southern-most counties.
A sheet on the tower's wall lists nearby industries and power plants that emit smoke. Hasselhan points to a white cloud in the distance and explains it is from an asphalt plant.
"I know the difference after sitting up here all this time," he said. "You know what smoke looks like. A house fire doesn't move and looks black. A woods fire changes color and changes direction."
Hasselhan has been a fire tower observer for almost four years. The novelty of having a "terrific view" wore off quickly, he said.
But the tower is just a preliminary stop in his career.
"I'd rather be out fighting fires."
Finals will be here before you know it!
The Hawk's Nest on Level Three of the Kansas Union is open until 10 p.m. Monday-Saturday.
Although we can't study for you,we would like to make your life a little easier.
We're going to help you out in the money department too. Cut out this coupon and receive: 25% off your next purchase after 5 p.m.in the Hawk's Nest exp. 5/12/88 Void with any other offe
Everyone is welcome to attend this FREE evening of stress relief!
1st Annual Country Club Week Campus-Wide
1st Annual Country Club Week Campus-Wide
ULTIMATE TOURNAMENT
& Battle of the Bands
to Benefit Headquarters and Special Olympics
August 25-26, Night of the 26
Teams of 8 players Double Elimination
Entry Fee: $40.00 per team (includes admission to Battle of the Bands)
Make Reservations Now!
Contact Chairmen: Mark Sloo, Amy Jones (Call KU Directory 864-2700)
Sponsored By:
kinko's
PYRAMID
Millwork
KJHK 91
COMMENCEMENT The University of Kansas
Degree Candidates and Faculty:
All participants, including faculty doctorate, law, Master's, and Bachelor's candidates, wear traditional regalia during the commencement ceremonies.
Candidates and faculty members may order caps, gowns, and/or hoods by visiting the concessions stand at gates 22 and 23 at the north end of Memorial Stadium between 10 a.m. and 3 p.m. on any weekday until Friday, April 29. A late fee of $10 will be assessed on orders placed after April 29.