By Aryan Pal
Imagine looking around in a forest and all you see is vibrant trees, the sound of animals surrounding you, the earthy smell. Now, you come back to years of acid rain deposition and see the impact. The photo to your right is what is now a graveyard of Norway spruce in Poland after the impact of acid rain. Acid rain is the direct result of air pollution, and it’s time we start addressing the issues facing our environment.
Acid rain is the result of Sulfur dioxide and nitrogen oxides are emitted into the atmosphere and are dispersed by wind currents. These gasses react with water and chemicals to form different acids like sulfuric and nitric. After they form an acid, they mix water and other materials before falling to the ground. Most of the gases that are released to form acid rain come from human-caused activities such as burning fossil fuels to generate electricity, the by-product of transportation from vehicles, and manufacturing, oil refineries, and other industries. Acid rain has a pH between 4.2 and 4.4 which is acidic, compared to our distilled water of a pH of 7. Acidic particles are deposited to the surface, and can runoff to water, vegetation, etc. This acidic water can harm plants by leaving less healthy, more vulnerable to cold temperatures, insects, and disease. Acid deposits can damage limestone buildings, cars, and health effects. 
However, the question arises of what are we doing to combat this issue? The Clean Air Act of 1990 targeted acid rain in the United States to put pollution limits that cut sulfur dioxide by 88 percent. With this, air-quality regulations are driving emissions of nitrogen dioxide by 50% as well. As you can see based on this graph of U.S emissions, at a nationwide level we are making the right steps to reduce acid rain by decreasing the amounts of sulfur dioxide and nitrogen oxide. 
Yet, we need more change locally in the Northeastern part of the United States. As you can see on the Annual pH of Precipitation weighted by Volume, the most acidic acid rain is in Northeast America. These ecosystems impacted by acid deposition are slow to recover due to how sensitive these regions have become. These soils are more susceptible to continued acid deposition which can result in even worse conditions. For example, red spruce trees in the Northeast were damaged by acid rain, but due to increased regulation, they are starting to recover. Alexandra Kosiba, a research project coordinator at UVM’s Forest Ecosystem Monitoring Cooperative and the Rubenstein School of Environment and Natural Resources, studied red spruce in 52 plots spanning five states. Her study concluded that more than 75 percent of red spruce trees and 90 percent of the plots showed growth. Furthermore, black trout in the Northeast region were highly sensitive to acidity and water temperature. Since passing the Clean Air Act regulations, lakes are beginning to slowly return to pre-industrial conditions. As they recover, they become darker, absorbing more light, and making the water warmer on the surface level, and colder the deeper you go. The Adirondack region of New York which is heavily impacted by acid rain is returning to brook trout fishery. As you can see, we are finally beginning to reverse the effects of acid rain nationwide, and locally due to these regulations. 
We are responsible for the effects of acid rain on our ecosystems, and we have to fix it. Although it takes time for us to see change, further regulations like the Clean Air Act are needed to reduce emissions. We will see forests grow, ecosystems return to normal by simply cutting the amount of air pollution in our country. People should begin to start using more renewable energy sources like solar and wind. Also, we can start using more public transportation, walking, or biking rather than just using cars. Every individual can make an effort to save energy by switching off lights, or using less electricity and using energy-saving appliances. Less electricity is being used so pollution from power plants decreases. By making an effort to reduce air pollution, you are also reducing acid rain. Change is already happening, and we are slowly seeing the results, but we can’t sit back and watch. We need to continue to replenish the ecosystems around us and stop further damage to air pollution.