itself is not.
Acid rain is becoming a question return for to take an emergency debate on the issue.
But in Britain we hear little about acid rain. ine race tal the lo le is Ine only union to take it up at I Ul Wis year would not indicate it was a pressing Biller SOORISIS here.
Yet Britain is by far the worst culprit in the whole of Western Europe when it comes to looking the causes of fast becoming environmental disaster.
burning of coal and oil — the fossil fuels release suphur dioxide strogen oxides into the sir. The massive combustion of coal and oil, for electricity particular, but also generally in creases large amounts chemicals air, to return to earth at a later date. Some of these chemicals come back earth as dust, but the rest, pumped high into the atmosphere through tall chimneys, combines with water in the air to produce sulphuric and nitric acid. This returns to earth as rain, hail, sleet or snow.
Small scale pollution ever since human beings Started burning cual. But tion amount chemicals pumped into the air has achieved mammoth proportions. million tonnes of sulphur out over Western Europe each veer. hv 1970 this had doubled to 25 million ton*...
sulphur dioxide is pumped into the atmosphere at the rate of THE ISTC IS THE only union to put forward a resolution on acid rain at the TUC this year. For Bill Sirs it is simply an attempt to provide himself with an ideological cover for his scabbing on the miners' strike. But while Bill Sirs' concern is a fake, the issue of major political importance in many European countries. In West Germany this summer the government had to La special session during the summer recess, for the first time ever in post-war Germany, roughly 100 kilos per person per year. Staggering alu ulu casall -Britain is in the fortunate position that prevailing winds send most of it out over the North Sea, Scandinavia and the rest of Europe!
The effect of this massive pollution has had a dramatic effect on the acidity of rain. Britain is one of the least affected countries in Europe, yet in the last years British rain has become average times more Pitlochrv rain with the same strength DeCI recorded.
Acid rain is now having devastatino environmental affects right across Europe destroying forests, re-, ducing crops, killing fish, eating monuments, causing S02 TRAFFIC (NOx) countless respiratory, skin and other diseases. Phree million square miles of Europe North America are now seriously affected.
In West Germany the destruction of the Black Forests has all the features 01 a neat-reversioe tional disaster. The Black Forest covers mountaris higher than the British lake district and Pennines with greenery. The forest keeps the water table high and the soil in place.
If the forest dies the water table will drop, and the top soil will dry out anu soon be blown away Sand storms will affect the area anul une soul is disper sed. Eventually green SiODes allu agricultural band wine replaced by bare rock, prone winter bleak and bare in the summe The West German forestry commission gives the forest seven years to live! We're not talking about some future millenium but right now.
lakes, rivers and forests are aflakes setter COHe already technically 'dead' of fish.
Eastern Europe the forests Czechoslovakia, boye Union are dying.
Athens the Parthenon, stood WICH almost as new for 2,400 sycals has suffered more deterioration in the last 25 cal. than WIDE preceding history. Virtually every historic building ir Eastern Europe is suffering.
Acid fogs, generally more acidic than rain, are callst respiratory diseases, frequently fatal Inose already suffering with ailments like asthma Increased acidity in water courses means more lead is dissolved with consequent effects on the qualit of drinking water. West Ger man scientists have suggested a link between 'cot death' and increased atmosonere Donon In itself the Thatcher governmeu firmly refuses to accept the existence of the problem, therefore very little money been available for But what is known is that for over 100 years Britain has been the largest ide emissions in Western Europe, and this is the case today.
If Eastern Europe is included then Britain's guilt is second only to the UŠSR OTHE the unlike Britain is a net receiver of all al and it has pro mised a 30 per cent reduction in sulphur emissions over the next years. With the USA, Britain is the only country in Europe North America to refuse to set a target to the reduction of sulphur emissions The Thatcher gover ment has ›nsisten reluset even acknowledge the problem, announcing that research still needs to be done to prove the problem exists. This has meant that Thatcher has not been able to employ an argument used by many right-wing governments that develope power should nuclear as a 'safer' alternative.
argument is complete joke, as Three already proved. The 'risks' of pollution replaced by the 'safety' of number of enormous nuclear bombs dotted round the country pile-ups of radioactive waste. The current law suit against British Nuclear Fuels over radioactive leakage shows that the British nuclear industry is no safer than any other. So what is the answer?
Even in West Germany environmental effects are devastating, the ment has not seriously grasped the nettle of dealing outright with the problem Yet a solution is within arm: reach.
The cost of fitting the relatively simple mechanisms to filter sulphur diox ide smoke of power stations industry in Britain or Wes Germany would cost around £1.5 billion about the same as the cost of constructing power station This would deal with around 60 per cent of al atmospheri pollution caused by the burning of fossil fuels.
But of course capitalism can no more do anything to protect the environment than it can prevent nuclear war or pro. Vite full employment. Where profi rules the value of the Black Forest is reckoned on the basis of How many telegrapa pores could be made out of the trees. And that's what is weighed up against the cost of saving it.
Nor will leaders like Bill Sirs do anything The green of the IS IC at this year's 1UC is simply a veiled attack on miners In fact the miners themselves precisely who have to be looked to to solve the problem. The coal is failure to spend money cleaning the in dustry can be healthy the basis of cheap coal and clean smoke.
At next year's TUC it would there ling for the spending at £1.5 billion to cle the air and end the scandal of Britain's role the destruction of Europe's environment.
• For more information acid rain, read Acid Rain by Steve Elsworth, £3.95, JUST published by Pluto Press