Acid Precipitation

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Issue # 73- January/February 1982

The natural cycle of rainfall and evaporation is our earth's method of cleansing itself. However, the stability of that fundamental cycle is currently in jeopardy because of...

You can measure the acidity or alkalinity of
your own drinking
water, pond, etc. with a litmus
papaer kit (available at most well
-equipped pharmacies). The
package you see in this
photo cost less than $5.00 and can
measure pH's between 4.5 and
7.5. The litmus is used by dipping
it into the solution to be tested,
then shaking off excess liquid.
The paper quickly changes color, and
the hue can be matched to the
key on the paper's package.
The litmus in this photograph indicates
a pH level of between 4.5 and 5.0.
MOM's Eco-Village lake showed
similar readings . . . definitely a
danger sign for the water's
inhabitants. In fact, we were
surprised (and alarmed) to
discover how low the
pH is in many area lakes, in the
Hendersonville city water supply,
and in staff members' private
wells.

The largest contributors to acid
precipitation are coal
-fired power plants.

Next to air, without which we could survive for only a few minutes, water is the compound most necessary to human life. Not only do we drink it—to help our bodies perform a number of vital functions—but we cleanse ourselves with it, grow food with it, and harvest the bounty of its lakes and streams. In fact, throughout history the single most important reason for a human's picking a spot to live has usually been the presence of an adequate supply of clean water.

Of course, Western civilization's attitude toward the precious liquid has changed somewhat in the last 100 years. Water is now delivered to most people in developed countries through mazes of pipes and faucets, rather than directly from wells or streams. And it's entirely possible that the attitudes engendered by take-it-for-granted tap water have helped cause the pollution and shortage problems we face today. In little more than a decade, the threat to our drinking supplies has become a top-priority concern.

In fact, ten years ago few people even recognized the danger in what was then a puzzling new phenomenon ... acid precipitation. Acid rain, as it's often called, is a direct result of the burning of fossil fuels, and it's the first water-quality problem that's managing to cross state and national boundaries on a daily basis.