Susan Goldhaber resurrected this long-forgotten issue, so let’s take another look. Having spent a good portion of my time at Brookhaven National Laboratory working on the National Acid Precipitation Assessment Program (NAPAP), I come with a certain amount of nostalgia. My disclaimer: since this work was on behalf of the Department of Energy, I confess to being more interested in BTUs than aquatic life.
Acid Rain
Those of us who are non-millennials may remember back to the 1970s, 1980s, and 1990s when the hottest environmental issue was acid rain. In fact, acid rain generated as much controversy and international conflicts as the big environmental issue of today, climate change, with scientists, policymakers, and politicians engaging in heated battles over this issue.