Confronting Acid Rain: A Model Of Science-Government Cooperation

Unlike water and oil, science and government can mix together, and in doing so can bring about effective, meaningful, and fair public policy. A good example of this cooperation can be found in the results of the federal government's investigation into the causes and remedies for acid rain—an investigation yielding important rules regarding air pollution. On the first Earth Day in 1970, only a handful of North American scientists were aware of the potential threat of acid rain. But by the end of the '70s, Congress had authorized a half-billion-dollar research effort—the National Acid Precipitation Assessment Program (NAPAP)—and "acid rain" had become household words. NAPAP's mission was to study the causes and effects of acid rain and recommend ways to reverse possible damage. Its effort was brought to a close in 1990, with its legacy taking wonderful form in subsequent passage of amendments to the Clean Air Act of 1970, Which mandated reduction of acid rain's chief components—sulfur and nitrogen emissions. But the path to the success of NAPAP was not without its pitfalls. Despite the program's achievements, considerable criticism appeared in the popular and scientific press. NAPAP was, for example, accused of running behind schedule and not focusing enough on making science relevant to national policy, while Congress, critics said, had its mind made up on legislation long before NAPAP finished its analysis. Countering these criticisms is the chronology of research findings and their reporting to the scientific community, Congress, and the Environmental Protection Agency. This chronology shows that the organizations and individuals responsible for determining policy were indeed kept abreast of the growing consensus on acid rain's negative effects. By the mid-1980s, the scope of damage to aquatic ecosystems had been outlined, and scientists had begun testifying before congressional committees. While the general public might have gotten conflicting or erroneous accounts, NAPAP's progress—as well as the progress of other programs seeking to determine the extent of acid rain's effects on diverse ecosystems—was consistently and accurately reported to the scientific community and to Congress by individual investigators as studies developed. The truth is, the effects of acid rain at present levels are neither as drastic as predicted by the doomsayers, nor as innocuous as promoted by the optimists. Most lake, stream, soil, and forest ecosystems are not unraveling owing to acid rain's effects, except in the areas where exposure to atmospheric acids is the highest. The percentage of streams, lakes, and forests that show significant decline because of acid rain is only in the range of 1 percent to 5 percent in the eastern United States. Furthermore, the effects of acid rain on some parts of the biosphere, such as lakes and streams, are reversible, and the legislation that has been enacted will decrease acid deposition by about 50 percent. Most important, policymakers have drawn the line and instituted reasonable, inexpensive controls that will keep sulfur emissions low in coming decades regardless of the amounts of sulfur-bearing fuels used. This will largely prevent an expansion of the ecological cost of acid rain. Over the time spanned by the cycle of Earth-awareness marked by Earth Day celebrations, we have recognized, researched, and reached a political resolution of a major, complex environmental problem—and it was done responsibly. The NAPAP project was a success and should serve as a model to scientists and government on how we can protect our environment from ecological threats. Certainly, if scientists, legislators, and activists can combine their efforts as they did here, they can do it in the future and on other issues of concern. Arthur H. Johnson is a professor of landscape architecture and geology at the University of Pennsylvania He was a member of the NAPAP project and has served on several National Research Council committees on acid rain

Confronting Acid Rain: A Model Of Science-Government Cooperation

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