Acid rain is topic of lecture

NEW PALTZ — The School of Science and Engineering at the State University of New York at New Paltz will continue the 2003-04 colloquium series at 4 p.m. on Thursday, Nov. 20, in the Coykendall Science Building Auditorium with a lecture titled “Acid Rain: an Unfinished Environmental Problem.”

Acid rain, primarily produced by sulfur and nitrogen oxides from fossil fuel emissions, was first observed in the White Mountain of New Hampshire in 1963. Dr. Gene E. Likens, who played a central role in the discovery of acid rain, will discuss how this growing trend has yet to be reversed despite the Clean Air Act of 1990.

Analysis conducted by Dr. Likens, director and president of the Institute for Ecosystem Studies, shows that current concentrations of sulfur and nitrogen in precipitation falling in eastern North America have grown to be 10 to15 times greater than in remote areas.

The colloquium lectures, two in the fall and three in the spring, are designed for a general scientific audience and are given by leading scientists who are available to meet faculty and students during their visits to campus.

Other colloquium lecture series topics and dates are: “Quantum Theory Challenges Reality: the EPR Experiment,” Feb. 12; “Dark Matter, Dark Energy and the Luminous Universe,” March 11; and “Seas, Sand and Mountains: Deep Time in New York 400 Million Years Ago,” April 15.

Each lecture will begin at 4 p.m., followed by a reception. The public is invited to these colloquia at no charge.

For more information or directions, contact David Clark at (845) 257-3728 or visit the School of Science and Engineering on the Web at www.newpaltz.edu/sse.