Acid rain in Europe and the United States: an update

This paper discusses the evolution of science and policies to control acid rain in Europe and the United States over the past several decades. Acid rain gained prominence in the late 1960s because of its perceived effects on ecosystem integrity. Extensive research efforts in both Europe and the United States, however, have concluded that the effects of acid rain—at least those on terrestrial ecosystems—were less serious than originally believed. More recently, interest in controlling acid rain precursors stems primarily from health concerns, particularly their effects in the form of fine particulate matter. The paper discusses the emergence of acid rain as an environmental concern, scientific evidence about the effects of acidic deposition on natural ecosystems, US and European acid rain control policies, studies of the costs and benefits of reducing acid rain, and different policy contexts in Europe and the United States. © 2004 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

[1]  Olga Kiuila.  Economic repercussions of sulfur regulations in Poland , 2003 .

[2]  B. Ulrich.  Effects of air pollution on forest ecosystems and waters—the principles demonstrated at a case study in Central Europe , 1984 .

[3]  Rolf Lidskog,et al.  Science and policy in air pollution abatement strategies , 2002 .

[4]  Ji-xi Gao,et al.  Acid Deposition and Integrated Zoning Control in China , 2002, Environmental management.

[5]  Richard P. Hooper,et al.  Modelling streamwater chemistry as a mixture of soilwater end-members — A step towards second-generation acidification models , 1990 .

[6]  M. Kraft.  Clean air and the Adirondacks: science, politics, and policy choice , 1998 .

[7]  H. Vennemo.  A dynamic applied general equilibrium model with environmental feedbacks , 1997 .

[8]  Jean-Paul Hettelingh,et al.  The use of critical loads in emission reduction agreements in Europe , 1995 .

[9]  Z. Dai,et al.  Changes in pH, CEC and Exchangeable Acidity of Some Forest Soils in Southern China During the Last 32–35 Years , 1998 .

[10]  D. R. Vann,et al.  Effects of ambient levels of airborne chemicals on freezing resistance of red spruce foliage , 1992 .

[11]  J. Kirchner,et al.  Fractal stream chemistry and its implications for contaminant transport in catchments , 2000, Nature.

[12]  M. Benarie.  The RAINS model of acidification: edited by J. Alcamo, R. Shaw and L. Hordijk, Kluwer Academic Publishers, Dordrecht, Netherlands 1990, 402 pp. Price: Dfl. 200.00, US$ 117.50 , 1991 .

[13]  R. Wright,et al.  Trends in nitrogen deposition and leaching in acid-sensitive streams in Europe , 2001 .

[14]  Henk Folmer,et al.  The International Yearbook of Environmental Resource Economics 2001/2002 , 2001 .

[15]  Klaus Conrad,et al.  Computable General equilibrium Models in Environmental and Resource Economics , 2001 .

[16]  E. Mansur,et al.  The Costs and Benefits of Reducing Acid Rain , 1997 .

[17]  G. Hornberger,et al.  Modeling the Effects of Acid Deposition: Assessment of a Lumped Parameter Model of Soil Water and Streamwater Chemistry , 1985 .

[18]  M. Russell.  Lessons from NAPAP. , 1992, Ecological applications : a publication of the Ecological Society of America.

[19]  J. Kaiser.  The Other Global Pollutant: Nitrogen Proves Tough to Curb , 2001, Science.

[20]  M. Holland,et al.  Cost-Benefit Analysis for the Protocol to Abate Acidification, Eutrophication and Ground Level Ozone in Europe , 1999 .

[21]  A Critique of Models for Freshwater and Soil Acidification , 1986 .

[22]  Nanjing.  Environmental assessment report , 2003 .

[23]  Michael Schröder,et al.  Choosing environmental policy instruments using general equilibrium models , 1993 .

[24]  K. E. Webster,et al.  Regional trends in aquatic recovery from acidification in North America and Europe , 1999, Nature.

[25]  Simon Harper.  Acidification today and tomorrow , 1982 .

[26]  E. Cowling,et al.  Reactive Nitrogen and The World: 200 Years of Change , 2002, Ambio.

[27]  B. J. Mason.  The Surface waters acidification programme , 1991 .

[28]  J. Alcamo,et al.  The RAINS Model of Acidification: Science and Strategies in Europe , 1990 .

[29]  B. Siebenhüner.  How do scientific assessments learn , 2002 .

[30]  J. Vieira,et al.  Computable General Equilibrium Models: A Literature Review , 2006 .

[31]  R. Wright,et al.  Recovery from acidification in European surface waters , 2001 .

[32]  Nils Christophersen,et al.  A Model for Streamwater Chemistry at Birkenes, Norway , 1982 .

[33]  Kristin Aunan,et al.  Co-benefits of climate policy—lessons learned from a study in Shanxi, China , 2004 .

[34]  T. Thorpe.  On Air and Rain , 1873, The British and foreign medico-chirurgical review.

[35]  Robert A. Goldstein,et al.  The ILWAS model: Formulation and application , 1985, Water, Air, and Soil Pollution.

[36]  L. Bergman,et al.  Productivity and Growth Effects of Acidification : A dynamic CGE modeling study of Sweden , 2000 .

[37]  G. Klaassen.  Acid rain and environmental degradation , 1996 .

[38]  M. A. Tabatabai,et al.  Acid Deposition and the Acidification of Soils and Waters , 1988 .

[39]  P. Brimblecombe.  The Big Smoke , 1987 .

[40]  H. Rodhe,et al.  Acidification in Developing Countries: Ecosystem Sensitivity and the Critical Load Approach on a Global Scale , 2001, Ambio.

[41]  P. Dillon,et al.  Base Cation and Nitrogen Budgets for a Mixed Hardwood Catchment in South-central Ontario , 2003, Ecosystems.

[42]  Ari Rabl,et al.  Damages and costs of air pollution: An analysis of uncertainties , 1999 .

[43]  T. Andersen,et al.  Recovery from acidification of lakes in Finland, Norway and Sweden 1990–1999 , 2001 .

[44]  H. Seip,et al.  Acid precipitation - effects on forest and fish. Final report of the SNSF-project 1972-1980. , 1980 .

[45]  T. Hesthagen,et al.  ASSESSMENT OF DAMAGE TO FISH POPULATIONS IN NORWEGIAN LAKES DUE TO ACIDIFICATION , 1999 .

[46]  G. Klaassen.  Acid rain and environmental degradation: the economics of emission trading. , 1996 .