168 The Environmental Debate
Given the differences between Canada and
the United States in size of population and gross
national product, it is likely that decisions by the
United States will determine the outcome of the
acid rain issue. We expect that decisive domestic
action will be delayed until the perceived damage
is serious enough to generate broad support for
another major initiative in environmental policy.
Although such support seems to exist in Canada,
the same is not yet the case in the United States.
The fear of serious damage observed elsewhere
has been the prime motivation for protection of
environment and public health in the past, and
this pattern is likely to continue in the case of
acid rain. Once people become genuinely con-
cerned about the effects of acid rain on wildlife,
vegetation and human health, political momen-
tum will build up fast.Source: Jurgen Schmandt, Hilliard Roderick, and Andrew
Morriss, “Acid Rain Is Different,” in Jurgen Schmandt and
Hilliard Roderick, eds., Acid Rain and Friendly Neighbors:
The Policy Dispute Between Canada and the United States
(Durham, NC: Duke University Press, 1985), pp. 19-20.of formal negotiations. But whatever will be
achieved between the nations will have to be
based on policy choices made at home. Without
a sound acid rain policy at the domestic level,
little can be accomplished internationally.
Past experience in addressing environmen-
tal disputes between Canada and the United
States suggests that bilateral actions will play
a useful but limited role; they are likely to sup-
plement domestic initiatives but are unlikely to
become the driving force for resolving the acid
rain issue. We make the assumption, therefore,
that no full-fledged international control policy
will emerge, and that domestic-policy initiatives
will have to lead the way. But within the frame-
work of enlarged national policies, cooperation
between the two countries (and eventually Mex-
ico) must be agreed upon and implemented that
far exceeds current political will, experience,
and institutional capabilities. Specific meas-
ures include joint research, monitoring, control
experiments affecting large areas, and harmoni-
zation of national policies.