Canada and Australia - Comparing Environmental Policies in 16 Countries - page 138

The government of Alberta owns 81% of the province's oil, natural gas,
and mineral resources, and each citizen—man, woman, or child—has
received a check for $400 in royalties. The province gets a third of its rev-
enues from royalties. The longtime premier, Ralph Klein, used the money
to build his political base. Nicknamed “King Ralph,” he was a flamboyant
Conservative who frequently has quarreled with the Liberal national
prime ministers, Jean Chretien and Paul Martin.
In the 1970s, Canadians realized some of their lakes were sterile because
acid in the water was killing the plants and fish. The problem was particu-
larly bad near Sudbury, Ontario, and more generally throughout Quebec.
A total of 14,000 lakes were acidic. The cause was acid rain and snow that
drained into the lakes, while other acid fell dry or in fog. For the most
part, it was sulfuric acid, although nitric acid was also common. The dual
mystery was the source of the acid, and why one lake could be affl icted
and not others. Except for those near nickel smelters in Sudbury, the lakes
were remote from industry. Scientists eventually demonstrated that the
acid had traveled long distances. Much came from the United States from
coal burned in the Ohio Valley, emitted high into the air where the sulfur
combined with oxygen to form the acid, then deposited in rain, snow, fog,
or powder in the north-country where the soil lacked buffers to neutralize
the acid. US emissions of sulfur dioxide are six times as great as Canadian
emissions. While not all falls on Canada, much of it does. Other acid came
from closer to home from automobile exhaust. The soil of the Canadian
Shield, which contains the oldest rock on the planet, tends to be thin and
worn. When acid rain fell on soil to the south with more natural buffers,
alkalis neutralized it so the damage was less.
Based on better scientific information, the government demanded the
United States control its pollution. At first the United States denied respon-
sibility, but when scientific evidence demonstrated the problem, the two
governments first agreed to monitor the air and coordinate their research,
then as the cause became clearer, to limit emissions. In 1991 the two coun-
tries signed the Air Quality Agreement. Reduction of acid on both sides
of the border improved the situation. By 1995 sulfur dioxide emissions in
eastern Canada were down by 54% compared to 1980. The West suffers
less because of fewer cities and industries, as well as more alkaline soils.
Controversy arose in 1998 regarding withdrawing water from the Great
Lakes. The Nova Group, a company based in Sault Ste-Marie, Ontario,
asked for a permit to withdraw water for beverages to be sold in Asia.
At first, the national government granted permission, but in the face of