| Summary: | Acid rain, or deposition of a combination of sulphur dioxide (SO2) and nitrogen oxides (NOx) in the form of acidified precipitation, causes environmental damage, the negative effects of which were first linked to lake and forest death in the early 1950s by Swedish scientists. One of the main sources of SO2 and NOx emissions was discovered to be coal- and oil-fired combustion power plants. The nature of acid rain is such that winds and weather patterns can transport SO2 and NOx plant emissions up to several hundred miles away from their source before they return to earth as acidified rain. Since acid rain is a regional, multinational environmental problem, supranational forums, first instigated by Scandinavian countries, have guided the development of solutions. In 1982 the Federal Republic of Germany (FRG) recognized the link between plant emissions and German forest die-back and pressed for European Community action.
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