Last night's news report on TV included another horribly unnerving coverage on massive snowfall around Korea. With the greatest depth of snow being 110.1cm this month (as of 14/02/14) and the damage costs adding up to 5 billion Korean won in just the Gangwon East Sea area*, Korea is facing a colossal catastrophe like nearby Asian countries, North America and others.
Already February, most of us have had enough of snow. But even without news about greenhouses, factories and houses collapsing due to abnormal snowfall, we fear it for another reason: "Acid Snow".
When the tiny flakes make our surroundings more than beautiful (see pictures below of my school campus grounds in December), a few (very few) of us in Korea go outside and dance in glee. Most of us stay inside, fearing a myriad of health implications we hear about. Occasionally the former but usually the latter, I would open my umbrella like the others during snowfall, gloomily thinking about the "good old days" when there was no such thing as acid snow. I would sigh and take comfort in capturing the little beauties in the pictures I take, sometimes thinking of solutions to minimize the acid snow impact on our health.
But what if I could go out without an umbrella, taste a snowflake melt instantly on my tongue, not caring about the pH levels of snow? What if I shouldn't be worried at all? What if all the purported consequences of getting in contact with it don't exist?
I started reading a book that was on the Recommended Books list at school: "Rainwater And You" by Professor Moo Young Han and Chang Rae Kang. The book jacket told me that it would correct all the misconceptions we have about acid rain - with a focus on Korea. This book's main point is that the concept of acid rain may be completely wrong and that we shouldn't fear rain so much. Since snow and rain are both precipitation, I thought that learning about rain would teach me about snow along the way.
I'm only about a third through the book, but I've already read some mind-boggling ideas that brought me both answers and questions. Firstly, Chapter 1 holds an interesting subtitle: "Being Acidic Doesn't Make it Bad". For example, orange juice's acidity is 100 times more acidic than acid rain's, with coke's as 500 times more. Even some shampoos or conditioners can be 100 times more acidic. By taking only this into consideration, the idea that acid rain causes baldness** would seem absurd, just like the book insists. To be honest, I
felt that this was too weak a reason to use. Surely, most of us are aware that simply being acidic or alkaline doesn't make a substance toxic. We should NOT drink sodium hydroxide (NaOH) - an alkaline solution - but we can consume green leafy vegetables and fruits like watermelon*** - also alkaline foods. There can be a difference in the type of acidity between acid rain and orange juice, don't you think? I'll find out more about it and get back to you on this!
One of the things I really found interesting was that acid rain cannot have harmful effects on the soil. According to Professor Han, the yellow dust that flew over to Korea for the past hundreds of years would neutralize any acid rain that falls. Although I had learned about the neutralization effect of yellow dust in Korean Geography class, I was not aware of its strength. I also didn't know that yellow dust could settle over land and remain. I will try to find more about it, and tell you the best I can!
Updates to come soon-!
*http://www.yonhapnews.co.kr/society/2014/02/14/0701000000AKR20140214068951062.HTML?template=5565
**This idea is very popular in Korea; I'm under the impression that people in other countries have not even heard of this. Please tell me in the comments whether such a view exists where you live!
***http://www.thebestofrawfood.com/alkaline-foods.html
Already February, most of us have had enough of snow. But even without news about greenhouses, factories and houses collapsing due to abnormal snowfall, we fear it for another reason: "Acid Snow".
When the tiny flakes make our surroundings more than beautiful (see pictures below of my school campus grounds in December), a few (very few) of us in Korea go outside and dance in glee. Most of us stay inside, fearing a myriad of health implications we hear about. Occasionally the former but usually the latter, I would open my umbrella like the others during snowfall, gloomily thinking about the "good old days" when there was no such thing as acid snow. I would sigh and take comfort in capturing the little beauties in the pictures I take, sometimes thinking of solutions to minimize the acid snow impact on our health.
But what if I could go out without an umbrella, taste a snowflake melt instantly on my tongue, not caring about the pH levels of snow? What if I shouldn't be worried at all? What if all the purported consequences of getting in contact with it don't exist? I started reading a book that was on the Recommended Books list at school: "Rainwater And You" by Professor Moo Young Han and Chang Rae Kang. The book jacket told me that it would correct all the misconceptions we have about acid rain - with a focus on Korea. This book's main point is that the concept of acid rain may be completely wrong and that we shouldn't fear rain so much. Since snow and rain are both precipitation, I thought that learning about rain would teach me about snow along the way.
I'm only about a third through the book, but I've already read some mind-boggling ideas that brought me both answers and questions. Firstly, Chapter 1 holds an interesting subtitle: "Being Acidic Doesn't Make it Bad". For example, orange juice's acidity is 100 times more acidic than acid rain's, with coke's as 500 times more. Even some shampoos or conditioners can be 100 times more acidic. By taking only this into consideration, the idea that acid rain causes baldness** would seem absurd, just like the book insists. To be honest, I
 |
| 'Rainwater And You' By Professor Han and Chang Rae Kang |
One of the things I really found interesting was that acid rain cannot have harmful effects on the soil. According to Professor Han, the yellow dust that flew over to Korea for the past hundreds of years would neutralize any acid rain that falls. Although I had learned about the neutralization effect of yellow dust in Korean Geography class, I was not aware of its strength. I also didn't know that yellow dust could settle over land and remain. I will try to find more about it, and tell you the best I can!
Updates to come soon-!
*http://www.yonhapnews.co.kr/society/2014/02/14/0701000000AKR20140214068951062.HTML?template=5565
**This idea is very popular in Korea; I'm under the impression that people in other countries have not even heard of this. Please tell me in the comments whether such a view exists where you live!
***http://www.thebestofrawfood.com/alkaline-foods.html
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