Word: coal
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Dates: during 1980-1989
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There is no doubt that coal-burning power plants account for about 70 percent of the 24 tons of sulfur dioxide dumped into the air of the Midwest and Northeast each year. There is no doubt that this sulfur dioxide is carried hundreds of miles away, with a final resting place somewhere in northeastern North America. And there is no doubt that acid rain has engendered an international--and international--debate marked by some appropriately acerbic rhetoric...
...aside from the fact that sulfur dioxide goes up, and acid rain comes down, the coal producers, utilities, environmentalists, and politicians involved agree on virtually nothing...
After nearly a decade of research, the effects of acid rain on the lakes and forests of the Northeast are still not clear. The Canadian Government and environmentalists in this country insist that acid rain is killing millions of fish and trees. American electric utilities and coal producers dispute this conclusion. And for two years, the Reagan Administration equivocated, claiming that not enough research had been done to take a position. Last June, though, two reports on acid rain from two prestigious sources changed the whole complexion of the conflict...
...week for the Reagan Administration. On June 29, a study from the National Research Council--an arm of the National Academy of Sciences--concluded that reducing emissions of sulfur dioxide from coal-burning power plants and factories will significantly reduce acid rain, which has probably contributed to the death of lakes and forests in the Northeast and Canada. Further, the NRC said that 90 to 95 percent of acid rain in North America comes from man-made sources, notably smokestacks and car exhausts. Finally, acid rain varies in direct proportion to the amount of sulfur dioxide in the air; reduce...
ABOUT TWO DOZEN bills concerning acid rain are now pending in both houses of Congress, and virtually all call for reductions in sulfur dioxide emissions. Although officially united in opposition to any new legislation, two major lobbying groups--the National Coal Association and the Edison Electric Institute--are privately divided over possible reduction plans...