Making Acid Rain Great Again?

The U.S. has never ratified that treaty; however, in 1980, Congress enacted legislation to regulate seabed mining. Past administrations have followed the Seabed Authority under what is referred to as “customary international law.” The Canadian firm is the first to apply for a license to the U.S. 

For years, the international authority has been discussing seabed mining regulations that would address any damaging effects on the marine environment. The Authority is an autonomous organization established under the UN Convention on the Law of the Sea and a follow-up agreement.

The Metals Company intends to use a machine to vacuum up nodules—potato-sized rocks that contain minerals that can be used in electronics. Drafts of a presidential executive order permitting the plan are being reviewed, according to the New York Times. NPR reports that the effects of seabed mining on marine ecosystems is potentially damaging in at least a dozen ways, including destruction of habitat for animals like sea sponges. Sediment plumes from the vacuuming could be destructive to sealife that live in clear water, and noise pollution could affect animals that navigate and communicate by using sound.

A new study from a UK-funded consortium concluded that marine life in the deep ocean can take decades to recover from the impacts of deep-sea mining. The research was conducted in the area known as Clarion Clipperton Zone between Mexico and Hawai’i, and is the same region where the Metals Company wants to operate. It’s about half the size of the U.S. mainland.

The Canadian company’s plans resulted in reactions from both environmentalists and governments, more than 30 of which are calling for a moratorium on the mining because there is not enough research on its impacts, which could include an irreversible loss of biodiversity.

Recently, Trump issued an executive order stating that it is imperative to increase critical mineral production in the U.S.

The Associated Press reports that 25 states passed laws supporting nuclear energy last year, and high-tech companies like Google, Meta, and Microsoft view SMRs as meeting their electricity needs from low-carbon sources.

Those who support nuclear power say that it is cleaner than fossil fuels because it produces no carbon emissions. Some SMRs are designed to be cooled by light water, and others will use gas, molten salt, or liquid metal. The benefit of mini reactors is that they have simpler and more compact designs as well as reduced construction times and costs. They still produce nuclear waste, which takes thousands of years to break down. The Michigan facility plans to store waste onsite for up to 100 years. The Nuclear Energy Commission has said in a draft environmental assessment for the small Michigan reactors that they would not have a significant effect on the environment, including air quality, groundwater, and animal habitats.

There are still unanswered questions about safety of SMRs, especially disposal of waste. The Natural Resources Defense Council explained that the small reactors follow the same cycle as large ones, requiring preparation of the nuclear fuel and then the safe management and disposal of used but still radioactive fuels. The process could pose risks to workers and the public. As Inside Climate News reports, the U.S. does not have a plan for storing radioactive waste in the long term, and Edwin Lyman, of the Union of Concerned Scientists, told the outlet that there are serious questions about safety, efficiency, and reliability as claimed by the industry.

Says who? Says the guy who identified it in the 1960s. Back then, Gene Likens conducted experiments in a New Hampshire forest showing the impacts of acid rain, which led to public outcry and, eventually, Congressional action. Last week, he told the Guardian that the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) under Trump is eliminating clean air and water regulations, which coupled with the administration’s desire to bring back coal, could drag the U.S. toward the toxic conditions of the 1970s.

Acid rain describes any form of precipitation—from snow, fog, hail, or rain—that contains high levels of sulfur dioxide (SO2) and nitrogen oxides (NOx). While volcanoes can spew these chemicals into the atmosphere during an eruption, most airborne sources of these compounds are from burning fossil fuels—specifically from coal-fired power plants, factories, and vehicles.

When acid rain falls into streams, lakes, and wetlands it can harm fish and other wildlife. It’s also detrimental to plants and trees by robbing soils of nutrients and causing aluminum to be released in the soil, which makes it hard for trees to take up water. Acidic rain can even damage buildings and structures, causing them to corrode or to deteriorate.

Recent sampling of rainwater and soils in the White Mountains shows acidity levels have fallen by 85 percent since its peak in the 1970s, although Likens said the soil remains degraded and any return of acid rain to ecosystems in this fragile state would be disastrous. Working with Cornell University, Likens set up a monitoring system near New York’s Finger Lakes. It’s been running since 1976 but had its funding cut this month as part of the Trump administration’s effort to shrink the size of government.

The discovery was made by lead author Evan Gora who, during fieldwork in Panama, noticed that the almendro had survived a lightning strike with little damage while more than a dozen neighboring trees died. He saw that the strike had not only left the tree mostly unscathed, it had also killed parasitic vines or lianas clinging to its branches.

His ensuing research of over 90 trees in Panama’s Barro Colorado Nature Monument concluded that seeking out lighting was a strategic move by the almendro to weed out competition for light and nutrients, both from other trees and the infesting vines. The team says almendros’ wide branching habit and height makes them natural lightning rods that are up to 68 percent more likely to get electrocuted than other trees, which in the end boosts the species’ ability to produce offspring by 14 times.

Climate change is increasing lightning in many regions, so that may give the almendro an edge. The team says that understanding lightning and its role in shaping the forests may be important for predicting changes in biodiversity and carbon storage and for informing tropical reforestation efforts. Given that the trees are very long lived—surviving up to one thousand years—they will likely be hit more than once, uprooting the idiom that lightning never strikes twice.

The study was published in the journal New Phytologist.