Quote:
Originally Posted by RustyLugNut
And your statements assume smog stays put. Why don't you make mention of the bodies of water turned acidic by the precipitation of NOx? Many of them were miles down wind from the NOx source.
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Because acid rain is primarily caused by SULFUR dioxide emissions, which come mainly from power plants* - hence it is a major problem in the northeast, which lies downwind of all those midwestern coal plants. Nitrogen oxides (which are produced in significant quantities by natural processes such as lightning) are fairly quickly converted to nitrates, and become plant fertilizer.
Thus NOx emissions are, at worst, a short-term and localized problem. Stop using IC engines &c, and they go away in short order. CO2 is a persistent and accumulating problem.
*Because most of the sulfur is removed from petroleum before it becomes gasoline or diesel.