Prevent Acid Rain

Strategy 13: Stopping Acid Rain

Acid rain is caused primarily by the emission of sulfur dioxide from coal-fired power plants. There are a number of remedies, including: switching fuel sources to natural gas, oil, or renewable energy sources; switching to low-sulfur coal; removing the sulfur from the coal before burning; using fluidized-bed combustion processes to burn the coal; and removing the sulfur from the smoke stack after combustion through the installation of pollution control equipment such as "scrubbers."

Costs/Benefits

A combination of tax incentives, government regulations and direct assistance that results in pollution-control equipment being placed on all coal combustion sites, increases in efficiency of industrial processes, transportation and appliances would cost approximately $8 billion per year for ten years. This is about 1% of the world's total military expenditures.

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What the World Wants Chart >

Eighteen Strategies...

...for tackling the major problems confronting humanity:

1. Eliminate Starvation and Malnourishment >
2. Provide Health Care & AIDS Control >
3. Provide Shelter >
4. Provide Clean Safe Water >
5. Eliminate Illiteracy >
6. Provide Clean, Safe Energy: Efficiency >
7. Provide Clean, Safe Energy: Renewables >
8. Retire Developing Nations Debt >
9. Stabilize Population >
10. Prevent Soil Erosion >
11. Stop Deforestation >
12. Stop Ozone Depletion >
13. Prevent Acid Rain (current page)
14. Prevent Global Warming >
15. Remove Landmines >
16. Refugee Relief >
17. Eliminating Nuclear Weapons >
18. Build Democracy >

*Sources:
The What the World Wants Project is by Medard Gabel and the research staff of the World Game Institute. The material in this section of Media Hell is quoted directly from that research. Credits, Major References & Footnotes >