The Political Economy of Acid Rain

Abstract

Over the past decade, acid rain has been transformed from a relatively unnoticed area of scientific inquiry into a major environmental issue of regional, national, and international concern. What is acid rain, why has it acquired such relatively sudden political prominence, and what are the prospects for the adoption of policies addressing this issue? These questions illustrate how the regional cleavages inherent in transboundary air pollution problems have fractured the political coalitions which supported earlier environmental legislation. Understanding the basis for that transformation, which requires information from the natural and physical sciences as well as insights into the economics and politics of the acid rain issue, is central to developing an appreciation of the constraints on policymaking for air quality management in the United States.