Remember when we were doomed by acid rain, then the ozone hole and rising oceans? Ted Danson and Al Gore’’s apocalyptic deadlines? Do these people think we don’t remember?
You never knew begin with, so how could you have forgotten?
You mention the problem of sulfuric acid in the atmosphere but there was also the threat of global cooling cause by the sulfate aerosols reflecting sunlight.
Apparently you don't know that those problems were caused by sulfur in coal and gasoline. The US Congress amended the Clean Air Act to begin regulating sulfur. So if you emit more than 250 tons of sulfur you are in deep shit.
Likewise with the ozone hole. Did you ever hear of the Montreal Protocol?
The history of it is that the polluters always scream bloody murder about how they will all go bankrupt and the nation will collapse if they are forced to stop polluting.