Editing Acid rain (section)

===In the United States===
{{external media | width = 190px | float = right | headerimage= [[File:Gene Likens 2015 Mariel Carr.JPG|100px]] |audio1= [https://www.sciencehistory.org/distillations/podcast/whatever-happened-to-acid-rain "Whatever Happened to Acid Rain?"], ''Distillations'' Podcast, [[Science History Institute]]  }}
[[File:Bixi stele (wrapped), Harvard University, Cambridge, MA -  IMG 4607.JPG|thumb|Since 1998, [[Harvard University]] wraps some of the bronze and marble statues on its campus, such as this "[[Harvard Bixi|Chinese stele]]", with waterproof covers every winter, in order to protect them from corrosion caused by acid rain and acid snow<ref>"[http://harvardmagazine.com/2000/03/art-under-wraps.html Art Under Wraps] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140817233408/http://harvardmagazine.com/2000/03/art-under-wraps.html |date=August 17, 2014 }}", Harvard Magazine, March–April 2000</ref>]]

The earliest report about acid rain in the United States came from chemical evidence gathered from [[Hubbard Brook Experimental Forest|Hubbard Brook]] Valley; public awareness of acid rain in the US increased in the 1970s after ''[[The New York Times]]'' reported on these findings.<ref>{{cite journal|author1=Likens, G. E.  |author2=Bormann, F. H. |doi=10.1126/science.184.4142.1176|title=Acid Rain: A Serious Regional Environmental Problem|year=1974|journal=Science|volume=184|issue=4142|pages=1176–9|pmid=17756304|bibcode=1974Sci...184.1176L|s2cid=24124373 }}</ref><ref>{{cite journal|doi=10.1029/2005JG000157|title=Soil CO2 dynamics and fluxes as affected by tree harvest in an experimental sand ecosystem|year=2006|last1=Keller|first1=C. K.|last2=White|first2=T. M.|last3=O'Brien|first3=R.|last4=Smith|first4=J. L.|journal=Journal of Geophysical Research|volume=111|issue=G3|pages=G03011|bibcode=2006JGRG..111.3011K|doi-access=free}}</ref>

In 1972, a group of scientists, including [[Gene Likens]], discovered the rain that was deposited at [[White Mountains (New Hampshire)|White Mountains]] of New Hampshire was acidic. The pH of the sample was measured to be 4.03 at Hubbard Brook.<ref>{{Cite journal|last1=Likens|first1=Gene E.|last2=Bormann|first2=F. Herbert|last3=Johnson|first3=Noye M.|title=Acid Rain|journal=[[Environment: Science and Policy for Sustainable Development]]|volume=14|issue=2|pages=33–40|doi=10.1080/00139157.1972.9933001|year=1972|bibcode=1972ESPSD..14b..33L }}</ref> The Hubbard Brook Ecosystem Study followed up with a series of research studies that analyzed the environmental effects of acid rain. The alumina from soils neutralized acid rain that mixed with stream water at Hubbard Brook.<ref>{{Cite journal|last1=Johnson|first1=Noye M.|last2=Driscoll|first2=Charles T.|last3=Eaton|first3=John S.|last4=Likens|first4=Gene E.|last5=McDowell|first5=William H.|date=September 1, 1981|title='Acid rain', dissolved aluminium and chemical weathering at the Hubbard Brook Experimental Forest, New Hampshire|journal=[[Geochimica et Cosmochimica Acta]]|volume=45|issue=9|pages=1421–1437|doi=10.1016/0016-7037(81)90276-3|bibcode=1981GeCoA..45.1421J}}</ref> The result of this research indicated that the [[chemical reaction]] between acid rain and aluminium leads to an increasing rate of soil weathering. Experimental research examined the effects of increased acidity in streams on ecological species. In 1980, scientists modified the acidity of Norris Brook, New Hampshire, and observed the change in species' behaviors. There was a decrease in species diversity, an increase in community dominants, and a reduction in the [[food web]] complexity.<ref>{{cite journal |last1=Hall |first1=Ronald J. |last2=Likens |first2=Gene E. |last3=Fiance |first3=Sandy B. |last4=Hendrey |first4=George R. |title=Experimental Acidification of a Stream in the Hubbard Brook Experimental Forest, New Hampshire |journal=Ecology |date=August 1980 |volume=61 |issue=4 |pages=976–989 |doi=10.2307/1936765 |jstor=1936765 |bibcode=1980Ecol...61..976H }}</ref>

In 1980, the US Congress passed an [[Acid Deposition Act]].<ref name="Lackey">{{cite journal|url= http://www.epa.gov/wed/pages/staff/lackey/pubs/ACID-RAIN-SCIENCE-POLICY-LACKEY-BLAIR-JOURNAL-REPRINT-1997.pdf|author= Lackey, R.T.|year= 1997|title= Science, policy, and acid rain: lessons learned|journal= Renewable Resources Journal|volume= 15|issue= 1|pages= 9–13|access-date= December 15, 2011|archive-date= May 6, 2013|archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20130506113115/http://www.epa.gov/wed/pages/staff/lackey/pubs/ACID-RAIN-SCIENCE-POLICY-LACKEY-BLAIR-JOURNAL-REPRINT-1997.pdf|url-status= live}}</ref> This Act established an 18-year assessment and research program under the direction of the National Acidic Precipitation Assessment Program (NAPAP). NAPAP enlarged a network of monitoring sites to determine how acidic precipitation was, seeking to determine long-term trends, and established a network for dry deposition. Using a statistically based sampling design, NAPAP quantified the effects of acid rain on a regional basis by targeting research and surveys to identify and quantify the impact of acid precipitation on freshwater and terrestrial ecosystems. NAPAP also assessed the effects of acid rain on historical buildings, monuments, and building materials. It also funded extensive studies on atmospheric processes and potential control programs.

From the start, policy advocates from all sides attempted to influence NAPAP activities to support their particular policy advocacy efforts, or to disparage those of their opponents.<ref name="Lackey" /> For the US Government's scientific enterprise, a significant impact of NAPAP were lessons learned in the assessment process and in environmental research management to a relatively large group of scientists, program managers, and the public.<ref>{{cite journal|doi=10.1016/S1462-9011(98)00006-9|title=Acid rain: Science and policy making|year=1998|last1=Winstanley|first1=Derek|last2=Lackey|first2=Robert T.|last3=Warnick|first3=Walter L.|last4=Malanchuk|first4=John|journal=Environmental Science & Policy|volume=1|issue=1 |page=51|bibcode=1998ESPol...1...51W }}</ref>

In 1981, the [[National Academy of Sciences]] was looking into research about the controversial issues regarding acid rain.<ref>{{Cite news|url=https://www.nytimes.com/1982/06/08/science/acid-rain-issue-creates-stress-between-administration-and-science-academy.html|title=Acid rain issue creates stress between administration and science academy|last=Reinhold|first=Robert|date=June 8, 1982|newspaper=[[The New York Times]] |access-date=November 16, 2016|archive-date=November 16, 2016|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20161116165049/http://www.nytimes.com/1982/06/08/science/acid-rain-issue-creates-stress-between-administration-and-science-academy.html|url-status=live}}</ref> President Ronald Reagan dismissed the issues of acid rain<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.ontheissues.org/Celeb/Ronald_Reagan_Environment.htm|title=Ronald Reagan on Environment|website=ontheissues.org|access-date=November 16, 2016|archive-date=November 25, 2016|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20161125074037/http://www.ontheissues.org/Celeb/Ronald_Reagan_Environment.htm|url-status=live}}</ref> until his personal visit to Canada and confirmed that the Canadian border suffered from the drifting pollution from smokestacks originating in the [[US Midwest]]. Reagan honored the agreement to [[Canadian Prime Minister]] [[Pierre Trudeau]]'s enforcement of anti-pollution regulation.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://money.cnn.com/magazines/fortune/fortune_archive/1986/04/14/67366/index.htm|title=HYSTERIA ABOUT ACID RAIN Even Ronald Reagan now casts it as the villain. He is overriding a lot of scientific evidence. – April 14, 1986|website=archive.fortune.com|access-date=November 16, 2016|archive-date=November 16, 2016|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20161116164525/http://archive.fortune.com/magazines/fortune/fortune_archive/1986/04/14/67366/index.htm|url-status=live}}</ref> In 1982, Reagan commissioned [[William Nierenberg]] to serve on the [[National Science Board]].<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.presidency.ucsb.edu/ws/?pid=41900|title=Ronald Reagan: Nomination of William A. Nierenberg To Be a Member of the National Science Board|website=presidency.ucsb.edu|access-date=November 16, 2016|archive-date=November 16, 2016|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20161116225425/http://www.presidency.ucsb.edu/ws/?pid=41900|url-status=live}}</ref> Nierenberg selected scientists including [[Gene Likens]] to serve on a panel to draft a report on acid rain. In 1983, the panel of scientists came up with a draft report, which concluded that acid rain is a real problem and solutions should be sought.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://nepis.epa.gov/Exe/ZyNET.exe/20013U0E.TXT?ZyActionD=ZyDocument&Client=EPA&Index=1981+Thru+1985&Docs=&Query=&Time=&EndTime=&SearchMethod=1&TocRestrict=n&Toc=&TocEntry=&QField=&QFieldYear=&QFieldMonth=&QFieldDay=&IntQFieldOp=0&ExtQFieldOp=0&XmlQuery=&File=D:%5Czyfiles%5CIndex%20Data%5C81thru85%5CTxt%5C00000012%5C20013U0E.txt&User=ANONYMOUS&Password=anonymous&SortMethod=h%7C-&MaximumDocuments=1&FuzzyDegree=0&ImageQuality=r75g8/r75g8/x150y150g16/i425&Display=hpfr&DefSeekPage=x&SearchBack=ZyActionL&Back=ZyActionS&BackDesc=Results%20page&MaximumPages=1&ZyEntry=1&SeekPage=x&ZyPURL|title=Report of the Acid Rain Peer Review Panel|date=July 1984|website=Document Display {{!}} NEPIS {{!}} US EPA|access-date=November 16, 2016|archive-date=November 16, 2016|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20161116163849/https://nepis.epa.gov/Exe/ZyNET.exe/20013U0E.TXT?ZyActionD=ZyDocument&Client=EPA&Index=1981+Thru+1985&Docs=&Query=&Time=&EndTime=&SearchMethod=1&TocRestrict=n&Toc=&TocEntry=&QField=&QFieldYear=&QFieldMonth=&QFieldDay=&IntQFieldOp=0&ExtQFieldOp=0&XmlQuery=&File=D%3A%5Czyfiles%5CIndex%20Data%5C81thru85%5CTxt%5C00000012%5C20013U0E.txt&User=ANONYMOUS&Password=anonymous&SortMethod=h%7C-&MaximumDocuments=1&FuzzyDegree=0&ImageQuality=r75g8%2Fr75g8%2Fx150y150g16%2Fi425&Display=hpfr&DefSeekPage=x&SearchBack=ZyActionL&Back=ZyActionS&BackDesc=Results%20page&MaximumPages=1&ZyEntry=1&SeekPage=x&ZyPURL|url-status=live}}</ref> White House [[Office of Science and Technology Policy]] reviewed the draft report and sent [[Fred Singer]]'s suggestions of the report, which cast doubt on the cause of acid rain.<ref>{{Cite news|url=http://grist.org/article/from-tobacco-to-climate-change-merchants-of-doubt-undermined-the-science/full/|title=From tobacco to climate change, 'merchants of doubt' undermined the science|date=April 17, 2010|newspaper=Grist|access-date=November 16, 2016|archive-date=November 16, 2016|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20161116163804/http://grist.org/article/from-tobacco-to-climate-change-merchants-of-doubt-undermined-the-science/full/|url-status=dead |first=Osha Gray |last=Davidson}}</ref> The panelists revealed rejections against Singer's positions and submitted the report to Nierenberg in April. In May 1983, the House of Representatives voted against legislation controlling sulfur emissions. There was a debate about whether Nierenberg delayed the release of the report. Nierenberg denied the saying about his suppression of the report and stated that it was withheld after the House's vote because it was not ready to be published.<ref>{{Cite news|url=https://www.nytimes.com/1984/08/18/us/legislators-sat-white-house-suppressed-acid-rain-report.html|title=Legislators Sat White House Suppressed Acid Rain Report |last=Franklin|first=Ben A.|date=August 18, 1984|newspaper=The New York Times |access-date=November 16, 2016|archive-date=November 16, 2016|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20161116164522/http://www.nytimes.com/1984/08/18/us/legislators-sat-white-house-suppressed-acid-rain-report.html|url-status=live}}</ref>

In 1991, the US [[National Acid Precipitation Assessment Program]] (NAPAP) provided its first assessment of acid rain in the United States.<ref>The US National Acid Precipitation Assessment Program: 1990 integrated assessment report. Washington, D.C.: National Acid Precipitation Assessment Program, Office of the Director, [1991]</ref> It reported that 5% of New England Lakes were acidic, with sulfates being the most common problem. They noted that 2% of the lakes could no longer support [[Brook Trout]], and 6% of the lakes were unsuitable for the survival of many minnow species. Subsequent ''Reports to Congress'' have documented chemical changes in soil and freshwater ecosystems, nitrogen saturation, soil nutrient decreases, episodic acidification, regional haze, and damage to historical monuments.

Meanwhile, in 1990, the US Congress passed a series of amendments to the [[Clean Air Act (United States)|Clean Air Act]].<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.epa.gov/clean-air-act-overview/clean-air-act-title-iv-subchapter-acid-deposition-control |title=Clean Air Act Title IV – Subchapter A: Acid Deposition Control &#124; Overview of the Clean Air Act and Air Pollution &#124; US EPA |publisher=Epa.gov |date=June 3, 2015 |access-date=March 20, 2018 |archive-date=December 26, 2017 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20171226020829/https://www.epa.gov/clean-air-act-overview/clean-air-act-title-iv-subchapter-acid-deposition-control |url-status=live }}</ref> Title IV of these amendments established a [[cap and trade]] system designed to control emissions of sulfur dioxide and nitrogen oxides.<ref name=":0">John Bachmann, David Calkins, Margo Oge. [http://www.epaalumni.org/hcp/air.pdf "Cleaning the Air We Breathe: A Half Century of Progress."] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180706132521/http://www.epaalumni.org/hcp/air.pdf |date=July 6, 2018 }} EPA Alumni Association. September 2017. Pages 26–27.</ref> Both these emissions proved to cause a significant problem for U.S. citizens and their access to healthy, clean air.<ref>{{cite journal |last1=Schmalensee |first1=Richard |last2=Stavins |first2=Robert N. |title=Policy Evolution under the Clean Air Act |journal=The Journal of Economic Perspectives |date=2019 |volume=33 |issue=4 |pages=27–50 |doi=10.1257/jep.33.4.27 |jstor=26796835 |s2cid=211372557 |doi-access=free }}</ref> Title IV called for a total reduction of about 10 million tons of SO<sub>2</sub> emissions from power plants, close to a 50% reduction.<ref name=":0" /> It was implemented in two phases. Phase I began in 1995 and limited sulfur dioxide emissions from 110 of the largest power plants to 8.7 million tons of sulfur dioxide. One power plant in New England (Merrimack) was in Phase I. Four other plants (Newington, Mount Tom, Brayton Point, and Salem Harbor) were added under other program provisions. Phase II began in 2000 and affects most of the power plants in the country.

During the 1990s, research continued. On March 10, 2005, the [[United States Environmental Protection Agency|EPA]] issued the Clean Air Interstate Rule (CAIR). This rule provides states with a solution to the problem of power plant pollution that drifts from one state to another. CAIR will permanently cap emissions of SO<sub>2</sub> and NO<sub>x</sub> in the eastern United States. When fully implemented,{{When|date=June 2021}} CAIR will reduce SO<sub>2</sub> emissions in 28 eastern states and the District of Columbia by over 70% and NO<sub>x</sub> emissions by over 60% from 2003 levels.<ref name="US Environmental Protection Agency">{{cite web|url=http://www.epa.gov/NE/eco/acidrain/history.html |title=US EPA: A Brief History of Acid Rain |publisher=United States Environmental Protection Agency |date=2002 |access-date=November 18, 2010 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100925214841/http://www.epa.gov/NE/eco/acidrain/history.html |archive-date=September 25, 2010 }}</ref>

Overall, the program's cap and trade program has been successful in achieving its goals. Since the 1990s, SO<sub>2</sub> emissions have dropped 40%, and according to the [[Pacific Research Institute]], acid rain levels have dropped 65% since 1976.<ref name="sfgate.com">[http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/c/a/2007/12/03/MNMMTJUS1.DTL&hw=Cap+trade+Acid+Rain&sn=001&sc=1000 'Cap-and-trade' model eyed for cutting greenhouse gases] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120316005850/http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=%2Fc%2Fa%2F2007%2F12%2F03%2FMNMMTJUS1.DTL&hw=Cap+trade+Acid+Rain&sn=001&sc=1000 |date=March 16, 2012 }}, [[San Francisco Chronicle]], December 3, 2007.</ref> Conventional regulation was used in the European Union, which saw a decrease of over 70% in SO<sub>2</sub> emissions during the same period.<ref>Gilberston, T. and Reyes, O. 2009. [http://www.carbontradewatch.org/carbon-trade-fails Carbon Trading: how it works and why it fails] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100106120306/http://www.carbontradewatch.org/carbon-trade-fails/ |date=January 6, 2010 }}. [[Dag Hammarskjöld Foundation]]: 22</ref>

In 2007, total SO<sub>2</sub> emissions were 8.9 million tons, achieving the program's long-term goal ahead of the 2010 statutory deadline.<ref>[http://www.epa.gov/airmarkt/progress/arp07.html Acid Rain Program 2007 Progress Report] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110501114253/http://www.epa.gov/airmarkt/progress/arp07.html |date=May 1, 2011 }}, [[United States Environmental Protection Agency]], January 2009.</ref>

In 2007 the EPA estimated that by 2010, the overall costs of complying with the program for businesses and consumers would be $1 billion to $2 billion a year, only one-fourth of what was initially predicted.<ref name="sfgate.com"/> Forbes says: "In 2010, by which time the cap and trade system had been augmented by the George W. Bush administration's Clean Air Interstate Rule, SO<sub>2</sub> emissions had fallen to 5.1 million tons."<ref>{{cite web|last1=Gerdes|first1=Justin|title=Cap and Trade Curbed Acid Rain: 7 Reasons Why It Can Do The Same For Climate Change|url=http://onforb.es/yfatTf|work=Forbes|access-date=October 27, 2014}}</ref>

The term [[citizen science]] can be traced back as far as January 1989 to a campaign by the [[National Audubon Society|Audubon Society]] to measure acid rain. Scientist [[Muki (Mordechai) Haklay|Muki Haklay]] cites in a policy report for the [[Woodrow Wilson International Center for Scholars|Wilson Center]] entitled 'Citizen Science and Policy: A European Perspective' a first use of the term 'citizen science' by R. Kerson in the magazine [[MIT Technology Review]] from January 1989.<ref name="1stUse">{{cite web|author=Muki Haklay|date=2015|title=Citizen Science and Policy: A European Perspective|url=https://www.wilsoncenter.org/sites/default/files/Citizen_Science_Policy_European_Perspective_Haklay.pdf|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20161018170921/https://www.wilsoncenter.org/sites/default/files/Citizen_Science_Policy_European_Perspective_Haklay.pdf|archive-date=October 18, 2016|access-date=June 3, 2016|publisher=Woodrow Wilson International Center for Scholars|page=11}}</ref><ref name=Kerson>{{cite magazine|author=R. Kerson|title=Lab for the Environment|journal=MIT Technology Review|date=1989|volume=92|issue=1|pages=11–12}}</ref> Quoting from the Wilson Center report: "The new form of engagement in science received the name "citizen science". The first recorded example of using the term is from 1989, describing how 225 volunteers across the US collected rain samples to assist the Audubon Society in an acid-rain awareness-raising campaign. The volunteers collected samples, checked for acidity, and reported to the organization. The information was then used to demonstrate the full extent of the phenomenon."<ref name=1stUse/><ref name=Kerson/>