what is being done to stop acid rain?
Although acid rain was first recognised as early as the 1870s it wasn’t until the 1970s that its effects began to be noticed. This was because increased demand for electricity and a rise in the number of vehicles meant that emissions of nitrogen dioxides and sulphur dioxides rose rapidly creating lots of acid rain. This led to international laws being passed in the 1980s and 1990s. These new laws limit the amounts of gases that countries can release, reducing acid rain. Countries like the UK have reduced their emissions by: • Promoting the use of clean energy methods- for example wind and solar energy. • Making sure all cars have catalytic converters- these remove 90% of the pollutants released by a car. • Encouraging people to use less energy by fitting draught excluders, installing cavity wall and loft insulation and asking people not to use their cars as much. • Helping factories build sulphur scrubbers- these remove sulphur from fumes. Unfortunately they are extremely expensive to
