Virginia Public Radio

The problem of acid rain is not new.  It was first described in 1852 by a Scottish chemist who coined the term to link polluted air from industrial cities in England to damaging rains in the countryside.  The subject gained widespread attention more than a century later when coal-burning power plants and auto emissions led to dying forests and poisoned lakes in the northeastern United States.  Now, two Virginia scientists warn that other human activities are making our environment more acidic, and the problem is likely to get worse. Sandy Hausman has that story.