News In Brief
| Albany, N.Y.
Cuomo signs acid-rain law, with eye to federal action
New York Gov. Mario Cuomo on Tuesday signed the nation's first pollution-control law aimed specifically at fighting acid rain, with the goal of prompting federal action on the environmental problem. The measure requires a 30 percent cut in sulfur-dioxide and nitrogen-oxide emissions in the state by the 1990s. Every power plant and industry that burns oil and coal in the state will be required to comply.
Scientists say acid rain occurs when airborne sulfur dioxide and nitrogen oxide combine with water droplets, creating acidic precipitation. Environmentalists say acid rain has made more than 200 lakes and ponds in the Adirondacks incapable of supporting aquatic life.
