Acid rain

Witness History

BBC

History, Personal Journals, Society & Culture

4.4 • 1.6K Ratings

🗓️ 22 February 2021

⏱️ 13 minutes

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Summary

In the 1960s, Swedish scientists documented how acid rain was poisoning lakes, killing fish, damaging soils and forests. Crucially they said it was an international problem, because the acid rain was caused by industrial pollution being carried on the prevailing winds from countries thousands of miles away. Acid rain is primarily created by the burning of fossil fuels, particularly coal, which releases large amounts of sulphur dioxide and nitrogen oxides into the air. These particles then mix with moisture in the atmosphere to create sulphuric and nitric acid, which then falls back to earth as acid rain. The phenomenon of acid rain was noticed in the 19th century but the threat was largely ignored. Alex Last spoke to Prof Henning Rodhe of Stockholm University about the research that alerted the world to the dangers of acid rain.

Photo: Forest decline caused by acid rain in the Giant Mountains in Poland - 1998 (Getty Images)

Transcript

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0:00.0	Just before this BBC podcast gets underway, here's something you may not know.
0:04.7	My name's Linda Davies and I Commission Podcasts for BBC Sounds.
0:08.5	As you'd expect, at the BBC we make podcasts of the very highest quality featuring the most knowledgeable experts and genuinely engaging voices.
0:18.0	What you may not know is that the BBC makes podcasts about all kinds of things like pop stars,
0:24.6	poltergeist, cricket, and conspiracy theories and that's just a few examples.
0:29.7	If you'd like to discover something a little bit unexpected, find your next podcast over at BBC Sounds.
0:40.0	Hello and welcome to the Witness history podcast from the BBC World Service
0:44.2	with me Alex Last as we present more firsthand accounts of events that shaped our
0:49.2	world and today we tell the story of how Swedish scientists alerted the world to the environmental threat from acid rain.
0:59.0	The problem of acid rain is expected to be on the agenda when the Prime Minister...
1:03.2	Campaign to stop acid Rain.
1:04.9	Acid Rain.
1:05.8	Acid Rain.
1:06.8	Acid Rain.
1:07.8	What's known as Acid Rain.
1:08.8	The 1970s and 80s, acid rain was one of the biggest environmental issues in the world as industrial
1:15.7	pollution had made rainwater acidic.
1:18.6	It was having a devastating impact on the environment across Europe and North America.
1:23.7	Acid rain is the direct result of pollution from factories, power stations and motor vehicles
1:28.8	that cause the disappearance of fish stocks and wildlife in lakes and rivers, the stunting of growth in crops and
1:34.6	trees and the erosion of stonework and other building materials and the problem is
1:38.9	getting rapidly worse.
	...

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