(MISC-2)                                 POSITION PAPER ON ACID RAIN

            “Acid rain is rain that contains significant amounts of sulfuric acid or nitric acid.  Sulfuric or nitric acid is formed when sulfur dioxide (SO₂) or nitrogen oxide (NO_x) gases emitted by industrial or transportation sources undergo a chemical transformation by atmosphere.”(1)  The effects of acid rain are widespread damage to lakes and rivers and their aquatic life, damage to forests and soil, contamination of drinking water, and possible human health problems.  (2)

WHEREAS, we are called by God to be good stewards over the land and sea and all that is them, preserving and nourishing them for future generations, and

WHEREAS, the damage caused by acid rain is a direct result of careless stewardship and may well scar our earth beyond repair, and

WHEREAS, this is a problem of truly international proportions, since 50% of the acid rain falls in eastern Canada is of U.S. origin, and only 10% of U.S. Acid rain comes from Canada, and U.S. Air quality standards allow for much more pollution than do Canadian standards(3), and

WHEREAS, the Lutheran Student Movement-Canada has prepared a resource and study packet on the issues relation to acid rain, as a result of concern and legislation discussed at their 1984 National conference,

THEREFORE BE IT POSITION OF LSM-USA that:

1. We support and applaud the efforts of LSM-C in enabling us to become more well informed on this vital issue, and

2. We support and applaud the efforts of LSM-C in enabling us to become more well informed on this vital issue, and

SPONSORS:  Paul Erickson, Lutheran School of Theology at Chicago

                        Schuy Jewell, Yale

Fact Sheet on Acid Rain, published by the Canadian Embassy in the USA, 1984, p. 2.

Ibid. , pp. 2-3.

Ibid. , p. 5.