Super User Ratherbfishing Posted January 31, 2018 Super User Posted January 31, 2018 Waaaaaay back when in my high school years, one of Field & Stream's major causes was Acid Rain. It was their writers contention that acid rain (sulfur and nitrogen oxide mixed in the rainfall which is produced primarily from coal burning plants and automobile emissions) was killing lakes and ponds in the Northern U.S. and, especially, in Canada at an alarming rate. It seemed that in no time at all, most lakes and ponds would be incapable of sustaining life. Articles on the subject appeared in almost every monthly issue and I was convinced the sky was falling. Has the U.S. and Canada cleaned up its act (emissions wise) or was it not the problem that it was contended to be OR is it still a problem but just not now the "flavor of the month"? Forgive me if this belongs in the "everything else" section. Quote
Super User Choporoz Posted January 31, 2018 Super User Posted January 31, 2018 Good question....hope the topic doesn't blow up...but, I recall the sky was falling, too....and then it wasn't anymore Quote
Super User senile1 Posted January 31, 2018 Super User Posted January 31, 2018 It wasn't a flavor of the month. We still have acidic rainfall but just not at the levels we once had due to decreases in sulfur dioxide and nitrogen oxide emissions. The Clean Air Act required that power plants make significant cuts in sulfur dioxide and nitrogen oxide emissions and they did this by installing "scrubbers" in smokestacks and switching to coal with less sulfur. Catalytic converters on cars also contributed to the decrease as well as "cap-and-trade" programs implemented for both of these compounds. Statistics from the National Emissions Inventory of the EPA show that sulfur dioxide and nitrogen oxide emissions have decreased dramatically from the 1980s. All it takes is a little research to discover these things. Quote
Super User Ratherbfishing Posted January 31, 2018 Author Super User Posted January 31, 2018 1 minute ago, senile1 said: All it takes is a little research to discover these things. Yes but if nothing could be discussed, this site wouldn't/couldn't exist and Glenn would have to look for another line of work. But thanks for your contribution (up until this last bit). 1 Quote
Super User senile1 Posted January 31, 2018 Super User Posted January 31, 2018 7 minutes ago, Ratherbfishing said: Yes but if nothing could be discussed, this site wouldn't/couldn't exist and Glenn would have to look for another line of work. But thanks for your contribution (up until this last bit). Good point. I was finishing up work, re-read what I posted, and was coming back to remove the last sentence. But you've already caught it so I will leave it for posterity. 1 Quote
Super User WRB Posted January 31, 2018 Super User Posted January 31, 2018 SO2 comes from sulfur based diesel fuel and coal, NO3 from refined diesel, jet and automotive fuels. The Clean Air Act 1970 and amended in 1990 to cover auto emission had a major reduction of acid rain in the USA. There isn't any debate over man made pollution and the Clean Air Acts proved emmison controls work to reduce pollution from burning carbon fuels. The debate centers around man made climate change and that is ongoing. Everyone wants clean air and water, however we can't control natural causes of pollution only man made. Volcano's continue to be the largest souce of SO2 and NO3 affecting atmosphic winds that directly impact weather. All we can do is our part to reduce man made sources of pollution. Off topic but interesting reading is the history of mega droughts between 850AD to 1100AD and repeated 1200 to 1350AD, average rain fall during those droughts was about 4 inches......scary history for the west coast. Tom Quote
Super User Ratherbfishing Posted February 1, 2018 Author Super User Posted February 1, 2018 2 hours ago, senile1 said: Good point. I was finishing up work, re-read what I posted, and was coming back to remove the last sentence. But you've already caught it so I will leave it for posterity. No worries. No harm, no foul. Quote
BuzzHudson19c Posted February 1, 2018 Posted February 1, 2018 4 hours ago, Choporoz said: Good question....hope the topic doesn't blow up...but, I recall the sky was falling, too....and then it wasn't anymore Yup. I remember the whole acid rain thing. In grade school we went to a museum and they told us that in 20 years trout wouldn't be able to survive in the Adirondacks. (Oh and Manbearpig.) Quote
Global Moderator TnRiver46 Posted February 1, 2018 Global Moderator Posted February 1, 2018 21 hours ago, BuzzHudson19c said: Yup. I remember the whole acid rain thing. In grade school we went to a museum and they told us that in 20 years trout wouldn't be able to survive in the Adirondacks. (Oh and Manbearpig.) They teach us about how animals evolved and adapted and then make a statement like that about trout!!! They don’t even believe what they are saying, one way or another. From what I see working with wildlife everyday, most species are extremely resilient 1 Quote
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