Page 61 - 1970S

February, 1970
radio and television program are dedi–
cated to filling this necd of mediator
between the experts and the public.
Air: Don1 t Breathe
Too Deeply
"Look at that earth! - isn't it a
beautiful jewel? There's just no place
like that in the univcrse."
Arthur Godfrey was holding up a
special handkerchief with a picture of
the earth printed on it taken from a
photo by the Apollo 10 astronauts. The
well-known entertainer, who is devoting
his life to fighting eovironmental pollu–
tion, was speaking at a press conferencc
during the UNESCO meeting.
He related how the Apollo 10 crew
members made an interesting observa–
tion on their historie round-trip mission
to the moon in Decembcr, 1968. They
noticed it was easy to spot Los Angeles
from hundreds of miles out in space.
How? By observing the large blanket
of smog hovering over the Southern
California metropolis.
In sorne Los Angeles school play–
grounds, one can read a sigo such as
this: "Warning! Do not exercise stren–
uously or breathe too deeply during
heavy smog conditions."
School children in Tokyo sometimes
have to wear masks on heavily smoggy
days. Traffic police in certain areas of
the Japanese capital must take periodic
"oxygen breaks" to keep from being
overwhelmed by noxious exhaust fumes.
Today, the earth's atmosphere - a
thin !ayer proportionately not thicker
than a veneer of lacquer on a 12-inch
school globe - is being severely
affected by the abuses of our modero
technological age.
Layers of poJlution - largely the
product of high-flying commercial jets
- can be found as high as 43,000
feet. Pilots have discovered pollution
high over the middle of the oceans
and the north polar region.
There is no such thing as "pure,
country-fresh air" - if it were to be
clinically analyzed according to amounts
of particulate matter - anywhere in thc
United States, not cven over the "wide
open spaces" of America's West. Pollu–
tion belched into the atmosphere from
The PLAIN TRUTH
our industrialized mcgalopolises is dis–
pcrsed far and wide, in all directions.
Hundreds of millions of tons of air
pollutants are spewed into the atmo–
sphere around the world (over 142 mil–
Iion tons yearly in the U. S.). And the
air pollution you can't see is the worst
of it. Between 85 and 90% of air pollu–
tion consists of largcly invisible, yet po–
tentially deadly, gases.
In the United States, the motor ve–
hiele is responsible for over 60% of the
nation's air pollution. Roughly 30% is
attributable to industry, split nearly
equaiJy betwecn manufacturing and
elcctric power generation.
Automotive engines emit hydrocar–
bons and nitrogen oxides into the air.
Coa!, oi l aod gas combustion, mainly
from industrial sources, adds sulphur
dioxide.
Rarely is one form of pollution an
cnd unto itself. For cxample, automo–
hiles add to water pollution as well as to
air pollution.
Thc modero high compression au–
tomotive engine operates at higher tem–
peratures than older models. Because of
this, it emits greater amounts of nitro–
gen oxides. In the air, nitrogen oxides
are readily converted to nitrates. These
are brought back down to the earth by
rain and snow. When the nitr.ltes enter
surface waters they act the same way as
nitrates released by inorganic nitrogen
fertilizer, which is an important contrib–
utor to water pollution.
Thus, the emergence of a new tech–
nology - the modero gasolinc engine
- is itself responsible for much of the
smog problem ?od for an appreciable
part of the pollution of surface waters
with nitrate.
The fine fabric of physical, chemical
and biological connections in the envi–
ronment is a delicate one. "Tear into it
in one place," asserts Dr. Commoner,
"and the fabric begins to unravel,"
spreading chaos from the air to the soil,
to the rivers, bays and even oceans. (Re–
liable reports now indicate that even
arctic glaciers contain lead, deposited
there by wind currents which have car–
ried it from urban auto traffic.)
What about all the talk of "new
gasolines" or sophisticated smog-control
devices? Will they really work in thc
7
long run? Answers Dr. John T. MiddJe–
ton, commissioncr, National Air Pollu–
tion Control Administration:
"Control o[ emiss.ions from cars at
present is only a 'holding action.' In
1980 we can expect the leve! of pollu–
tion from automobiles to rise. We are
pushing the interna) combustion engine
to its technical limits.''
The Prcsident of the Society of Au–
tomotive Engineers, P. S. Myers, adds:
"While there is some disagreemcnt as to
tbe exact time it will occur, there is uni–
versal agreement that at sorne time in
the futurc the growth of the automobile
population will exceed the effect o{
present and proposed controls.''
Scientists know furthcr, that the earth
is accumulating an overburden of car–
bon dioxide. More CO~ is being re–
leased, due to the burning of so-called
fossil fuels, than can be assimilated by
green plants, which release life-giving
oxygen in return.
Across the United States :llone,
oxygen-producmg fields, forests, grass
and farming Jands are being gobbled up
by highways, shopping centers and urban
subdivisions at a cate of 3,000 acres a
day - or over one million acres a year!
Exactly what tbis growing imbalancc
is doing, atmosphcric scientists are not
yet prepared to say.
But projections for the future do in–
dicate more people, driving more cars,
consuming more electrical powcr and
manufactured goods - all adding to
our overtaxed atmosphere.
Water: Purity Sold Out
to Progress
"l remember when the first factory
was built on the Saddle River in New
Jersey not far from where I went to
school in Hasbrouck Heights.''
Arthur Godfrey was spinning a tale
about his cbildhood days.
"We couldn't swim or fish in the
river after that because .it had bccome
polluted with the factory wastes."
He and his boyhood pals com–
plained ... but not their parents. "Be–
sides," be said, "lots of people got jobs
in that factory. Saddle River Township
was growing! This was progress.
"Yes, it was just about that time that
the myth was established: Prosperity