Now
that you know why acid rain is a problem,
you might be wondering what’s being done to control
it. Regulations and new technologies are helping
reduce acid rain.
EPA’s Acid Rain Program
Power plants generate the electricity we use
every day. Unfortunately, power plants also
produce large amounts of nitrogen oxides and sulfur
dioxide—the pollutants that cause acid
rain—when they burn fossil fuels, especially
coal, to produce energy. Congress passed
a law called the Clean
Air Act Amendments of 1990, and this law
said that EPA should start the Acid
Rain Program. The
program limits, or puts a cap on,
the amount of sulfur dioxide that power plants
can release
into the air and issues allowances to
the power plants to cover their sulfur dioxide
emissions. It also reduces the amount of
nitrogen
oxides
that power plants can release.
Reducing Pollution
Scientists
have found different ways to reduce the amount
of sulfur dioxide released from coal-burning
power plants. One option is to use coal that
contains less sulfur. Another option is to “wash” the
coal to remove some of the sulfur. The power
plant can also install equipment called scrubbers,
which
remove the sulfur dioxide from gases leaving
the smokestack. Because nitrogen oxides are
created in the process of burning coal and
other fossil
fuels, some power plants are changing the way
they burn coal.
Other Sources of Energy
A great way to reduce acid rain is to produce
energy without using fossil fuels. Instead,
people can use renewable energy sources, such
as solar and wind power. Renewable energy sources
help reduce acid rain because they produce much
less pollution. These energy sources can be
used to power machinery and produce electricity.
Cleaner Cars
Cars and trucks are major sources of the pollutants
that cause acid rain. While one car alone does
not produce much pollution, all the cars on
the road added together create lots of pollution.
Therefore, car manufacturers are required to
reduce the amount of nitrogen oxides and other
pollutants released by new cars. One type of
technology used in cars is called a catalytic
converter. This piece of equipment has been
used for over 20 years to reduce the amount
of nitrogen oxides released by cars. Some new
cars can also use cleaner fuels, such as natural
gas.
Cars that produce less pollution and are better
for the environment are often labeled as low emissions
vehicles. You can find out which vehicles are
low emissions vehicles by looking at EPA’s
Green Vehicle Guide.
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