ABSTRACT
The Swedish scientist Oden first drew attention to the fact that acidification of lakes and rivers was connected to the long distance transport of sulphur dioxide and nitrogen oxides in the atmosphere. The mechanism of global warming is sparked by the buildup of greenhouse gases in the upper atmosphere. Alpine flower meadows, Arctic marine ecosystems, tundra, tropical cloud forest, and coastal saltmarsh have all been classified as highly vulnerable to climate change. In the United States of America, for instance, the publication of President Bill Clinton’s Climate Change Action Plan in October 1993 was greeted with very muted enthusiasm by environmentalists. The fear of both nuclear war and radioactive contamination was the launching force behind several citizens’ groups in the 1950s and 60s. Chernobyl caused the greatest industrial release of radioactive pollution ever, spreading heavy fallout for more than 1500 km.
