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Buying Pollution
Right Out of the Sky!
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The Pollution
Sulfur dioxide (SO2) creates a huge problem for our environment, especially in the eastern part of the United States. It increases respiratory disorders, causes severe visibility degradation, impairs the health of our fish and wildlife through acid rain, and damages ecosystems. In short, S02 and the resulting acid rain cause tremendous damage to our health and environment. 

Maine lakes are affected by acid precipitation. The pH of rain and snow in Maine has been between 3.9 and 5.0 since the mid 1950s 
(normal pH of rainfall is about 5.6). The pH of precipitation recorded by the Maine Department of Environmental Protection in November 1995 was 3.9 at Acadia National Park, 3.9 at Bridgeton, and 4.25 at Greenville. The first two readings indicate strong acidification, the last, moderate acidification. Rain is considered abnormally acidic when it has a pH below 5.0, and lakes are considered acidified with a pH of less than 5.5. According to the Maine Department of Environmental Protection, about 100 lakes in Maine currently have pH lower than 5.5. About half these lakes are naturally acidic, the other half caused by acid rain.

(1) Exhaust from automobiles, power plants, and factory smokestacks fills the air with sulfur dioxide and nitrogen oxide gases. (2) Some of the gases become attached to particles in the air and fall to earth as dry deposition. (3) Great quantities of sulfur dioxide and nitrogen oxides mix with the moisture in clouds to form sulfuric acid. (4) These acids fall, with the rest of the water in the clouds, as acid 
rain, or wet deposition. (5) The acids poison trees, crops, and other plants. (6) Sulfuric and nitric acids build up in rivers and lakes, killing fish and polluting the water.
As seen here, Acid Rain is a world wide problem with many countries, like England, tracking the sources and trying to quantify the effects of acid rain. ARRF asks for your help in reducing the harmful effects of acid rain. 



MICHAELH@USM.MAINE.EDU
Acid Rain Retirement Fund
P.O. Box 10272 
Portland, ME 04104