January/February 1983
By Paul and Anne Ehrlich
ECOSCIENCE
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Paul Ehrlich (Bing Professor of Population Studies and Professor of Biological Sciences, Stanford University) and Anne Ehrlich (Senior Research Associate, Department of Biological Sciences, Stanford) are familiar names to ecologists and environmentalists everywhere. But while most folks are aware of the Ehrlichs' popular writing in the areas of ecology and overpopulation (most of us — for instance — have read Paul's book The Population Bomb ) . . . few people have any idea of how deeply the Ehrlichs are involved in ecological research (the type that tends to be published only in technical journals and college texts). That's why we're pleased to present this regular semitechnical column by these well-known authors/ecologists/educators.
In our last column we noted that even strong conservation measures, strict control of localized pollution sources, and the protection of recharge areas would probably not be adequate to safeguard America's ground-water resources. One reason for this, of course, is that the demands of population and economic growth could easily keep withdrawal rates higher than recharge rates . . . in spite of conservation and watershed preservation. A second factor is the potential for pollution originating in the rain itself.
Until recently, the notion of rain as a source of pollution seemed preposterous, but humanity has steadily increased its use of fossil fuels. Among the products of such combustion are oxides of sulfur and nitrogen, which are spewed into the atmosphere by automobile exhausts and factory/powerplant smokestacks. There, the oxides take part in a variety of chemical reactions, producing (among other things) sulfuric and nitric acids.
These potent acids, mixed with rainwater, are now descending upon us. Over vast areas of North America, Europe, and Asia, rain has become 10 to 1,000 times more acid than normal. Until recently, the record was held by Pitlochry, Scotland . . . where, in 1974, the rain was as acid as vinegar! In 1981, however, this dubious first-place award was captured by the People's Republic of China: In the city of Michin, in the center of the country, University of California scientist John Harte measured rain significantly higher in acidity than that which fell on Pitlochry.
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