Acid Rain Retirement Fund

Causes: Arts & Culture, Education, Elementary & Secondary Schools, Environment, Literacy, Pollution Abatement & Control

Mission: Environmental Education: ARRF presents acid/base demonstrations for elementary and middle school science classes and encourages children and adults to take an active role in reducing air pollution by helping ARRF raise money to retire sulfur dioxide emissions allowances. ARRF helped middle-schoolers in Gorham Maine public schools organize a paper drive in 1996 that recycled over 10,000 pounds of newspaper and helped purchase the right to emit over 13 tons of SO2 per year. The Windham Middle Scholl Honor Society and Portland High School Environmental Club created their own fund raising efforts to help ARRF buy pollution allowances. ARRF has also assisted kids in the Camp Fire Boys & Girls Council for Eastern Massachusetts, Will Rice College in Houston, sixth graders at South Kortright Central School in New York, Conserve School in Land O'Lakes, Wisconsin, and Students for Environmental Action at East Lansing High School in Michigan. Because ARRF does not use its pollution rights, and they are issued on a tons-per-year basis, they accumulate unused over time. Thus, in April 2006, ARRF held the legal right to emit a total of 1,350,000 pounds--or 675 tons--of sulfur dioxide. Because it will not exercise its legal right to pollute this year, the air we breathe will be cleaner by that amount. Because its Articles of Incorporation and Bylaws prohibit ARRF from ever transferring these rights to anyone who would use them, these emissions allowances have been "retired," or taken out of circulation permanently. Next year, with your help, ARRF hopes to purchase and retire even more air pollution. We welcome donations and inquiries about how individuals and groups can help us in this activity. We have fund raising ideas to share, and will recognize any donation over $25 with a parchment Clean Air Certificate, suitable for framing, which says how much air pollution will be retired in the name of the person or group. Clean Air Certificates may also be given as gifts for birthdays or holidays, inscribed in the name of the recipient. Visit our home page to see what certificates look like. And please help use reduce air pollution!