Background

Acid rain is caused by mainly man-made emissions of sulfur dioxide and nitrogen oxide from factories and refineries. Many times, these emissions can cause acid rain in places far from the place where the problem originated. Acid rain affects many different living things. It destroys ecosystems and can even eat through the leaves on trees.

Acid rain has even been linked to human health problems through respiratory exposure. It damages the lungs and bronchial passages of people who breath it in. "Most acid rain originates in the U.S. Midwest. However, it is blown north and affects the far northern states and Canada. Canadians, who are tired of seeing their green forests destroyed by acid rain, want the United States government to force industry to clean up its act. They have a growing acid rain crisis on their hands because of our factories and refineries."(qtd. in Howard and Perley 37)

The reason a solution to this problem isn't an easy thing to find is because many people's jobs are on the line. The pollutant sulfate is produced primarily by electric utilities and other heavy industry that burn sulfur-containing coal to produce energy.

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