Excerpt from The Pollution Problem Roberto Bererra 3 The types of pollution and their effects vary greatly. At the same time, however, they are related; each type of pollution affects the other types. An example of the connection between different types of pollution is acid rain. Acid rain is caused mostly by sulfur or nitrogen emissions given off by sources such as car exhaust and the burning of fossil fuels such as coal. These harmful chemicals rise into the atmosphere where they react with other compounds and then fall as an acidic form of rain, sleet, or snow. Acid rain damages plants and buildings, contaminates soil and water, and has a negative effect on animals, fish, and even humans.