Blowing smoke on warming, clean air Oct 24, 2009
Dave Swanson, an institute senior vice president, claimed the provisions to fight acid rain would cost so much that the total cost to consumers from enactment to 2010 could reach nearly $120 billion. There has been $120 billion in costs, but not the kind Swanson was talking about. (Boston Globe)
UNH gets final installment of acid rain grant Oct 23, 2009
DURHAM, N.H. (AP) -- University of New Hampshire researchers are getting more money to study how much acid rain is falling into lakes across northern New England and parts of New York ... The goal is to determine whether the billions of dollars spent on coal-burning power plants have helped reduce acid rain, which has been blamed for killing fish. (Concord Monitor)
China's Acid Rain Control Strategy Offset By Increased Nitrogen Oxide Air Pollution Oct 16, 2009
15, 2009) Scientists are reporting the first evidence that China's sharp focus on reducing widespread damage to soil by acid rain by restricting sulfur dioxide air pollution may have an unexpected consequence: Gains from that pollution control program will be largely offset by increases in nitrogen emissions, which the country's current policy largely overlooks ... Those emissions cause acid rain, which in turn has made vast areas of farmland more acid and less productive ... However, China has... (Science Daily)
Improving China's acid rain control strategy Oct 15, 2009
A new study urges China to take steps to reduce nitrogen emissions, which contribute to acid rain that can damage soil and plants like these trees. Scientists are reporting the first evidence that China's sharp focus on reducing widespread damage to soil by acid rain by restricting sulfur dioxide air pollution may have an unexpected consequence: Gains from that pollution control program will be largely offset by increases in nitrogen emissions, which the country's current policy largely... (EurekAlert!)
Cruise ship pollution rules have some Alaskans fretting Oct 15, 2009
Many large vessels, such as cruise ships, emit nitrogen oxides and sulfur oxides that contribute to unhealthy ground-level ozone, acid rain and the particulate matter that leads to hazy skies. The EPA estimates that by 2020, the total cost of lowering emissions will add up to about $3. (Anchorage Daily News)
Energy crisis postponed, new gas rescues world... Oct 13, 2009
Since the early 1970s coal power plants in the US generate less than 90% of the particulate (soot), 65% less sulfur dioxide (acid rain formers), and 60% less NOX's (low level ozone formers), while generating about 50% more power. I have a new edict: Whosoever usith the term "clean coal" must firsteth define what they mean. (The Drudge Report)
UGA's coal a target of environmentalists Oct 11, 2009
In 2008, the steam boiler emitted about 266 tons of sulfur dioxide, which helps form acid rain, and 74 tons of nitrogen oxides, a component of ozone pollution, according to UGA records. The boiler also puts out tons of other kinds of pollutants every year, including volatile organic compounds and chemicals classified as hazardous. (Athens Banner-Herald)
Alfalfa Sprouts Key To Discovering How Meandering Rivers Form And Maintain Oct 7, 2009
5, 2008) Climate change is hampering the long-term recovery of rivers from the effects of acid rain, with wet weather offsetting improvements, according to a new. (Feb. (Science Daily)
Volcanoes Wiped Out All Forests 250 Million Years Ago Oct 7, 2009
The eruption produced acid rain on a global scale and , allowing more of the sun's harmful ultraviolet rays to hit the planet's surface. Until now, researchers hadn't found much hard physical evidence for what had happened to plants during the mass extinction, so many had assumed that Permian forests survived relatively unscathed. (National Geographic)
Fungus feasted off world's worst extinction Oct 3, 2009
Modern forests ravaged by acid rain are covered in the stuff, and scientists generally believe that the titanic eruptions of the Siberian Traps, a large volcanic province in Russia, choked the atmosphere and blighted the land with acid rains. The harsh conditions lasted for hundreds of thousands of years. (MSNBC -- Environment)
Ancient Fungus: World's Forests Were Wiped Out Oct 2, 2009
The gases had a dual effect, producing acid rain and depleting the ozone layer. The outcome was the destruction of forests, providing enough rotting vegetation to nourish Reduviasporonites so that they could proliferate across Pangaea. (Science Daily)
AMD: source and science Sep 30, 2009
In addition to AMD, Mpumalanga has to contend with acid rain from burning coal. - Ingi Salgado. (Business Report, South Africa)
tireless environmentalist Sep 23, 2009
Sharp saw Dingell up close the last time Big John reluctantly tackled air pollution--the 1990 amendments to the Clean Air Act that successfully dealt with acid rain. Now Dingell has awakened to global warming, holding more than two dozen hearings on the issue since February and extracting on-the-record promises of cooperation from heads of industry more accustomed to obstruction. (Harper's Magazine)
Lillelund: Are you driving yourself sick? Sep 22, 2009
Nitrogen oxide and nitrogen dioxide together play a major role in the formation of acid rain. Benzene is a proven carcinogen. (Beverly Citizen, MA)
Cap and trade legislation worries utililties Sep 20, 2009
Hamilton said when the cap is applied all electricity prices will go up a little bit, however she compared the government's efforts in this area to similar restrictions on acid rain and lead in gasoline when those pollutants were considered to be a public health problem. "Government is doing what only government can do, which is to set a responsible limit or cap on carbon and then step back and industries can figure out the cheapest way to meet that cap," Hamilton said. (Brainerd Daily Dispatch)
Portable and precise gas sensor could monitor pollution and detect disease Sep 19, 2009
Nitric oxide is so potent that a few molecules of it per billion, or even trillion, molecules of air promote smog, acid rain and depletion of the ozone layer. Similarly tiny amounts in a patient's breath could help diagnose asthma and other disorders. (EurekAlert!)
Teaching Strategies Which Foster Cu... Sep 18, 2009
One example is when open ended probing questions are asked of students regarding how their procedures will investigate the affects of acid rain on plants. During the discussion, students use critical thinking skills to develop a hypothesis and experimental procedures. (Suite101.com)
Navy revises Littoral Combat Ship buying plan Sep 17, 2009
Acid rain will decrease. WASHINGTON -- The Navy said Wednesday it will select either Lockheed Martin Corp. or General Dynamics Corp., but not both, to build a fleet of small, speedy Littoral Combat Ships. (Fresno Bee -- Business)
The success of Sweet Peet goes well beyond the topsoil Sep 17, 2009
For example, according to information provided by Mr. Graziano and Ms. Smart, it beautifies borders and edges, prevents drying and crusting soil surface, suppresses weeds, has little or no erosion, prevents soil compacting and helps neutralize acid rain. These benefits have encouraged many state businesses to buy and sell Sweet Peet. (Town Times, CT)
Mexico City limits love affair with plastic bag Sep 15, 2009
Pollution in the air falls in the form of acid rain, which is a serious problem for streams and rivers, as well as the Chesapeake Bay. NBC's Amna Nawaz reports. (MSNBC -- Environment)
Media: Singapore's native species in danger due to acid rain Sep 14, 2009
SINGAPORE, Sept. 14 (Xinhua) -- Acid rain may be wiping Singapore's native species to extinction, local media reported on Monday. A National University Of Singapore (NUS) study showed that the 20 species of animals plentiful in the Singapore's Bukit Timah Nature Reserve in the 1980s, including frogs, crabs and fish, are slowly being wiped out, local newspaper the Straits Times reported. (Xinhuanet, China)
Clean coal consortium tackles impact Sep 14, 2009
The consortium, comprised of University faculty from several different curricula, also researches methods to control other pollutants such as sulfur dioxide, which plays a role in acid rain, and metals like mercury. While several areas of research make up the focus of the consortium, Giammar is involved with geological sequestration of carbon dioxide and looking at the overall fate of metals in coal use resulting from the 5 to 10 percent of unburnable material making up most coal in the United... (Washington University Student Life, MO)
Bay reports call for more livestock regulations Sep 11, 2009
Acid rain will decrease. Federal survey finds coal ash sites in 35 states. (Fresno Bee -- Nation)
North Andover Police to enforce No Idling Zones at schools next week Sep 10, 2009
These pollutants are responsible for a wide range of environmental and health problems, including global warming, smog, acid rain and respiratory illnesses. While Gallagher said officers don t intend to be out giving citations next week, he said repeat offenders will face punishment. (North Andover Citizen, MA)
US, Canada near agreement to control pollutants from ships Sep 9, 2009
Acid rain will decrease ... The engines of big ships emit large amounts of nitrogen oxides and sulfur oxides, which contribute to ground-level ozone, acid rain and particulate matter. (Juneau Empire)
Experimental Design in Science Inve... Sep 9, 2009
What is the impact of acid rain on the growth rate of dandelions during spring ... If a water solution with the same pH level of acid rain is given to dandelions, then the dandelions will grow less ... Students measure the amount of chemicals added to water to create the normal acid rain pH level for their area, along with the amount of water given to the dandelions. (Suite101.com)
Laos power plant misses jumbo payout Sep 9, 2009
But involuntary relocation due to possible fallout of fly ash, acid rain and at times heavy aerial contamination by carbon disulphide, which will likely result in chemically induced devastation of plants used for elephant fodder, is quite another ... Acid rain and sulfur dioxide emissions from the mine and plant will provide additional burdens to the people and elephant herds of the area, environmentalists say. (Asia Times Online)
Fishing: State says there's 'zero' room for adding new streams to the trout stocking program Sep 6, 2009
Although mine drainage, acid rain, development and landowner postings are still a problem, environmental improvements funded in part by Growing Greener have resulted in cleaner watersheds in many parts of the state. "What we're seeing in traditional farming areas, for instance, is that streams are starting to come back and support wild trout, and in the Pittsburgh area, larger streams are cleaning up to the point where they could support stocked trout," Miko said. (Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, PA -- Sports)
Ammonia in Snake River Plain Sep 5, 2009
"As far as atmospheric science goes, your big concern right now is deposition acid rain, acid snow," he said. "(Ammonia) would mediate the acid, actually.". (Pocatello Idaho State Journal, ID)
Ontario Plans to Shut Four Coal Generators to Cut Pollution, Ministry Says Sep 4, 2009
The closures will come up to four years before a plan to shift away from coal to reduce emissions that contribute to global warming, acid rain and smog. Some units may be converted to burn biomass such as wood waste. (Bloomberg -- Canada)
East Timor's lost opportunity Aug 29, 2009
Such plants are banned in most countries because they are heavily polluting, create acid rain, and produce toxic solid and liquid wastes. They are also hard to operate. (Sydney Morning Herald -- World)
North Andover schools to be No Idling Zones Aug 21, 2009
These pollutants are responsible for a wide range of environmental and health problems, including global warming, smog, acid rain and respiratory illnesses. In their summer newsletter, the town s Sustainability Committee explains that children are more sensitive to air pollution than adults because they breathe twice as much and their lungs are still developing. (North Andover Citizen, MA)
Whatever Happened to Acid Rain? Aug 19, 2009
Whatever happened to acid rain ... Whatever Happened to Acid Rain ... Why do we never hear about acid rain anymore. (Slate)
A Plant's Arsenal Of Crystalline Darts And Sand Aug 18, 2009
11, 2007) A new understanding of how plants manage their internal calcium levels could lead to modifying plants to avoid damage from acid rain. The pollutant disrupts calcium balance in plants by leaching. (Science Daily)
The Sky Is Not Falling: Pollution In Eastern China Cuts Light, Useful Rainfall Aug 18, 2009
"Besides the health effects, acid rain and other problems that pollution creates, this work suggests that reducing air pollution might help ease the drought in north China.". Drier Times. (Science Daily)
Can Geoengineering Help Slow Global Warming? Aug 18, 2009
For one thing, increasing sulfur in the atmosphere would increase acid rain, with all the damage that can do to forests and wildlife. And there are serious concerns that artificially changing cloud cover could disrupt global precipitation patterns, a risk the climate scientists Susan Solomon and Gabriele Hegerl raised in a recent article in Science. (Time.com)
News Scan Briefs: Killer Smile Aug 15, 2009
Although the burning of fossil fuels is known to release nitrogen oxides that can excessively fertilize ecosystems or react with other compounds to form smog and acid rain, researchers have had difficulty pinpointing the extent to which people have disrupted nitrogen levels in the atmosphere. To investigate, scientists at Brown University and the University of Washington analyzed an ice core from Greenland, which trapped nitrate deposits over the past three centuries. (Scientific American)
What do you think of the altered scheme? Aug 11, 2009
The Acid Rain Program to reduce SO2 (the first ever emissions trading program) and the NOx Budget program were all based on a similar model to that which is being put forward by Turnbull. While most of you on this board may not like to hear it, these programs were fantastically successful, and reduced emissions to such an extent, that Acid Rain is now no longer considered to be a major issue in the northeast US. Ozone and smog levels have also been reduced significantly by the NOx cap and trade... (Sydney Morning Herald -- Australia)
Top 10 Green Jobs Aug 9, 2009
These engineers work behind the scenes, using principles of biology and chemistry to limit the effects of acid rain, global warming, car emissions and ozone depletion. The Bureau of Labor Statistics predicts the field of environmental engineering will grow 25% during the next seven years. (Suite101.com)
The looming electricity crunch: Dark days ahead Aug 7, 2009
Acid rain and old age explain the shortage of capacity ... New European Union rules in the Large Combustion Plant Directive impose tough limits on emissions of nasty oxides of sulphur and nitrogen, which cause acid rain, as well as of carcinogenic particulates. (The Economist)
Earth's biogeochemical cycles, once in concert, falling out of sync Aug 4, 2009
What do the Gulf of Mexico's "dead zone," global climate change, and acid rain have in common. They're all a result of human impacts to Earth's biology, chemistry and geology, and the natural cycles that involve all three. (EurekAlert!)
Duke Energy Elbows Co-Ops for Right-to-Pollute Permits in Climate Measure Aug 3, 2009
Lawmakers want to broker peace the way they did two decades ago when they gave and other coal-plant operators license to pollute as part of a deal to curb acid rain ... Acid rain was a big political compromise; in essence it was a multibillion-dollar bribe, said , president of the Washington-based environmental group The only difference with carbon is the stakes are far bigger ... He recalled the scene in a back room where House lawmakers were calculating how to distribute acid rain... (Bloomberg -- US)
What Sarah Palin got wrong about energy Aug 2, 2009
Take the acid rain program established in the Clean Air Act amendments of 1990. The naysayers said it would cost consumers billions in higher electricity rates, but electricity rates declined an average of 19 percent from 1990 to 2006. (Herald Online, SC -- Opinion)
JONAH GOLDBERG: Bull's-eye on planet Earth Jul 30, 2009
The heat of impact releases torrents of nitrous and nitric acid rain. So horrendous is the calamity that some wonder if the enormous investment in fending off climate change might not have been better spent. (Fresno Bee -- Opinion)
Pollution Still a Hazard to U.S. Beaches Jul 30, 2009
DHMO is an "enabling component" of acid rain -- in the absence of sufficient quantities of DHMO, acid rain is not a problem. DHMO is a causative agent in mos 0000357D t instances of soil erosion -- sufficiently high levels of DHMO exacerbate the negative effects of soil erosion. (CBS News)
Mount Rushmore to get laser treatment Jul 30, 2009
The company has identified several "at-risk" places including the Acropolis of Athens (threatened by acid rain); Machu Picchu in Peru (excessive tourism); and the French Quarter in New Orleans (flooding), says Elizabeth Lee, the company's director of projects. The Scottish government has already used the technology to create 3-D models of Scottish sites such as Stirling Castle and Rosslyn Chapel, says 's minister of culture. (USA Today -- Travel)
Planet Bull's Eye Jul 29, 2009
The heat of impact releases torrents of nitrous and nitric acid rain. So horrendous is the calamity that some even wonder if the enormous investment in fending off climate change might not have been better spent. (Townhall.com)
LETTER: All the way from Mongolia, support for Old Burial Hill Jul 27, 2009
Gravestones are broken, pushed over or stolen; vines and invasive species have overgrown the stones; acid rain and age has made it impossible to read many of the inscriptions; steps and railings are in bad repair. Fortunately, the Cemetery Department and some of the Hill s neighbors have looked after it as best they could: picking up the litter, pruning back vines, even repairing and painting the bench on top of the hill. (Marblehead Reporter, MA)
Matt Reed: Economist weighs in on issues Jul 26, 2009
the acid rain problem. Permits were allocated to polluters, based on their historical weighted averages of what they emitted back in 1988, with the idea of getting to half the level we were at in 1980 by the year 2000. (Florida Today)
Johanns takes aim at cap-and-trade bill Jul 22, 2009
kw guy wrote on July 21, 2009 4:19 pm:" At one time, lots of people believed they had to burn witches at the stake. At other times, people believed the world was flat. Right now, some people believe cap and trade will save the planet. Looks like people don't have to try real hard to get history to laugh about them someday. " Brian wrote on July 21, 2009 4:52 pm:" Get a grip and stop this crap. We don't need a cap and trade sytem that sucks billion out of the economy for government use under the... (Great Falls Prairie Star, MT)
Mapping our scientific past through graven images Jul 21, 2009
The marble wears away through exposure to rain and pollution, particularly acid rain, but the lead does not, leaving the letters standing proud from the surface. The more they stand out, the greater the exposure in the past. (Sydney Morning Herald -- Australia)
Newsweek: Tracking largest industrial spill Jul 21, 2009
It installed scrubbers to filter out sulfur dioxide and nitrogen oxide, which contribute to acid rain. And it added devices called electrostatic precipitators to trap fly ash, which is so fine that it would otherwise shoot out through the flues, float into the atmosphere, and potentially lodge itself in people's lungs. (MSNBC -- Environment)
Geothermal energy: Potential for power available, but weak Jul 20, 2009
The drawbacks are acid rain or corrosive runoff from steam residue and the need to place power plants in remote, geologically unstable territory. At last week's Pacific Northwest Economic Region conference in Boise, Idaho, Gov. Brian Schweitzer considered the hot-water opportunities with more than 500 delegates from the United States and Canada. (Missoulian, MT)
Living Green: Cap and trade explained Jul 16, 2009
This cap and trade approach was used successfully in the 1980 s to reduce sulphur dioxide pollution which was causing acid rain albeit on a vastly simpler scale. This approach should work for reducing emissions of carbon dioxide and several other greenhouse gases. (Hamilton Wenham Chronicle, MA)
Toxins may have doomed ancient forests Jul 15, 2009
may have provided the final nail in the coffin, mixing with water and falling on land as potent acid rain. Click for related content. (MSNBC -- Environment)
India Should Combine Tough Climate Stand With Green Policy Jul 15, 2009
The US reduction of acid rain over the past 20 years is a good example ... Two decades ago, acid rain was a growing problem in the country ... But an innovative system introduced during the 1990s allowed utilities to trade credits for sulfur dioxide emissions, and since then, acid rain in the US has been cut by more than half. (YaleGlobal Online Magazine, CT)
Rushmore security called failure (3269) Jul 14, 2009
Park officials ramped up security at the 1,278-acre memorial in the wake of an attempt by Greenpeace activists in 1987 to hang a banner calling attention to acid rain. And, in 1999, the park's security got a 2. (Rapid City Journal, SD)
Lapse in security aided Greenpeace's 1987 Rushmore protest Jul 13, 2009
The protesters planned to hang a 50-by-100 foot blue and white banner -- which read "We the People Say No To Acid Rain" -- on the George Washington sculpture ... Templeton, in leaving jail in 1988, said no one in the group would apologize for the Rushmore protest, but he thought the site was a mistake because the mountain carving, although "a worthy backdrop," had nothing to do with producing acid rain ... 1987: In October, Greenpeace attempts to unfurl a banner on the face of Mount Rushmore to... (Rapid City Journal, SD)
Letter: Current energy policy is driven by false fears Jul 11, 2009
cmnsens41 wrote on Jul 10, 2009 8:55 AM:" Global warming may or may not be a hoax. Earth has experienced warming and cooling cylces for millions of years. Experts say there have been at least 5 ice ages. For every ice age comes global warming. We humans give ourselves far too much credit for thinking we are causing the next global warming cycle.Now they say sulfur compounds in the air are good because they block the suns radiant energy from mother earth. Maybe we should blow the tops of our... (Montana Standard, MT)
Environmentalists Unfurl Banner On Mount Rushmore Jul 10, 2009
That banner said, "We the People Say No to Acid Rain.". Security measures were beefed up after the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks. (W-USA News, DC)
ZulaWorld combines science, fun for kids Jul 10, 2009
Likewise, a game about crossing a boulder-filled terrain while in a bubble suit to avoid acid rain is clever, but the controls are sluggish. A virtual world that is focused on making science fun is a great addition to the kid virtual world market. (USA Today -- Tech)
Remember that facts still matter Jul 9, 2009
Digital TV conversion, Y2K computer meltdowns, killer bees, Mad Cow disease, acid rain, low-income housing proposals, almost any state budget proposal, depending if you are a Republican or a Democrat. Find the common thread yet. (Racine Journal Times, WI)
Sen. Byrd blasts climate bill... Jul 9, 2009
Byrd Blasts Cap and Trade. senator stands firmly behind coal. (The Drudge Report)
Environment, field burning hot topics in 75th Legislature Jul 9, 2009
Coal-fired power plants are the dirtiest energy producers causing climate change, acid rain, and haze. We passed Senate Bill 101 requiring emissions from energy producers to be no greater than a natural gas plant. (Lebanon Express, OR)
Greenpeace stunt marks a return to Rushmore Jul 9, 2009
In October 1987, five activists from the organizations tried to place a banner shaped like a gas mask over George Washington s carved stone face, to protest acid rain ... In 1987, the environmental group Greenpeace climbed the mountain with plans to unfurl a 160-by-50-foot protest banner reading "We the people say no to acid rain" over the presidents' faces. (Rapid City Journal, SD)
