Acid Rain and Transboundary Air Quality in Canadian-American Relations

Abstract

Acid was major environmental issue in Canada-United States relations during 1980s. Yet it seemingly disappeared from agenda of 1990s. Certainly no politicians looking to new millennium are likely to characterize as the worst environmental we have to face, as one referred to it in 1977. (1) The widespread public impression, only partly correct, is that problem has been or is being solved. Some observers would tend to point to negotiation and signing in 1991 of first-ever bilateral Air Quality Agreement as reason for changed agenda--and, for that matter, as a fine example of cooperation and mutual responsiveness that characterize Canadian-American relations. (2) Others, who focus more on instruments of domestic policy, would point to fact that both Canada and United States had adopted national controls by end of 1990. These analysts might argue that international agreements, by themselves, do little to stem rising tide of pollution; it is domestic policymaking and legislation that effect change. Such arguments are related to a long-standing scholarly debate in international studies over sources of policy change. Are these changes primarily domestic in origin, reflecting distinctness and sovereignty of states? Or are they more a result of external forces in an age of globalization? This broader debate is, in turn, related to one of core questions in Canadian-American relations--whether Canada as an external actor has much influence on United States or is dominated by its larger, more powerful neighbor. The purpose here is to trace troubled emergence of both domestic policies and Canada-United States Air Quality Agreement, and much less-troubled course of their implementation, in order to learn what we can about Canadian-American environmental relations. Three questions lie at heart of this analysis. Why did dominate bilateral environmental agenda of 1980s and then disappear? To what extent were this change and adopted policies matters of domestic politics or of international, especially bilateral, relations? And, finally, what does course of implementation suggest for future of as an item on bilateral agenda? To explore these questions requires some background on processes by which issue of arose and was eventually addressed in Canada and United States, and then some discussion of current status of question. Overall, this analysis will suggest there is a characteristic pattern of depoliticization and bureaucratization in dealing with environmental issues in Canadian-American relations. Putting Acid Rain on Agenda What is popularly known as acid rain is a complex set of physical and chemical phenomena by which gases, especially sulphur and nitrogen oxides (SO2 and NOx), emitted mostly from industrial processes, are transported through atmosphere, transformed into acidic compounds, and then deposited on land and water surfaces, often with serious negative effects on aquatic and terrestrial ecosystems. (3) Acidification of lakes and streams kills fish and other aquatic species. Acid also has a deleterious effect on various crops and on growth of certain types of trees, particularly in high altitudes, and can cause long-term damage to soils. The main sources of in North America are coal-fired electrical generating plants and nonferrous smelters. Although term became part of everyday vocabulary, it describes a problem not given to easy, layperson observation, unlike many types of water pollution or urban air pollution. The impact was having on North American environment (and that of Europe) was discovered and documented by dedicated scientific researchers. (4) In Canada, work of Eville Gorham and Richard Beamish was of particular importance scientifically while, in United States, key scientists included Gene Likens and Ellis Cowling. …