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Acid rain is caused when the sulfur and nitrogen oxides in air pollution combine with atmospheric moisture to produce highly acidic precipitation. Unpolluted rainfall is slightly acidic, with a natural pH of about 5, due to naturally occurring constituents of the atmosphere, such as carbon dioxide, but acid rain has a pH of about 4. Acid precipitation includes rain, snow, hail, and fog. The term acid deposition refers to both acid precipitation and tiny dust particles formed from the pollutants in acid rain. Acid rain has destroyed plant and animal life in lakes, damaged forests and crops, and caused extensive erosion of structures built of stone. Sulfur and nitrogen oxides (often abbreviated SOx and NOx, respectively) are common by-products of fossil-fuel combustion. SOx forms from sulfur impurities in fuels, especially coal and some petroleum products. NOx forms from nitrogen impurities in fuels and from nitrogen in the air used