Historical Perspective on Environmental Pollution

The issue of chemical emissions and their effect on the environment is not limited to recent history. As shown below, acid rain was first documented in the 1600s. The chronology below lists some important events in the identification, monitoring, and steps to reduce emissions for acid rain and global warming [4]. 

English scientists C. Crowther and H. G. Ruston demonstrate that acidity of precipitation decreases the further one moves from the center of Leeds, England. They associate these levels of acidity with coal combustion at Leeds factories. 

American scientists W. H. MacIntyre and I. B. Young conduct the first detailed study of precipitation chemistry in the United States. The focus of their work is the importance of airborne nutrients to crop growth. 

Swedish scientist Hans Egner, working in the same vein of agricultural science as MacIntyre and Young, set up the first large-scale precipitation chemistry network in Europe. Acidity of precipitation is one of the parameters tested. 

1954 Swedish scientists Carl Gustav Rossby and Erik Eriksson help to ex- 

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