ABSTRACT
The phenomenon of acid deposition, commonly referred to as "acid rain," has been the subject of growing scientific research and media coverage. Concern has been expressed about the possible short-term and long-term consequences of the deposition of sulfuric and nitric acids on aquatic ecosystems, forests, crops, and man-made structures or cultural artifacts especially in eastern North America and Europe. Acid rain first emerged as a public policy concern at the 1972 United Nations Conference on the Human Environment in Stockholm. Robert Angus Smith, an English chemist, might well claim title of being the "father of acid rain." Smith's pioneering studies of precipitation chemistry and its effects first used the term "acid rain." Alternative interpretations of the science and economics of acid rain are plausible. Acid rain forces policymakers to confront a typical environmental controversy. Acid rain control decisions ultimately will be resolved according to precisely this kind of distributive calculus since they represent an explicit political choice.
