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     CITIZENS SEEK SOLUTIONS 
     
     T0 ACID RAIN ~  
     
    
   
   
    
       
     
    
   
   
    
     Over twenty citizen groups from Canada and the.United States have joined forces 
     
     to demand action in controlling acid rain which, according to a recent 
     
     International Joint Commission report, could endanger nearly 50,000 Canadian 
     
     lakes over the next 20 years. Shortly after taking office, John Fraser, 
     
     Federal Environment Minister, said that acid rain is the most serious 
     
     environmental_problem Canada has ever faced. 
     
    
   
   
    
     John Fraser and other politicians will be pressed for answers when they appear 
     
     at a citizen-run conference in Toronto later this year. Besides politicians, 
     
     scientists, industry representatives, bureaucrats and members of the public will 
     
     come together to learn the causes and effects of acid rain, to focus on the 
     
     status of international negotiations and consider legal and technological 
     
     solutions to the problem. 
     
    
   
   
    
     The conference, called ACTION SEMINAR ON ACID PRECIPITATION (ASAP) will be held 
     
     in Toronto on Friday and Saturday, November 2 and 3, at the downtown Holiday Inn. 
     
    
   
   
    
     Acid precipitation (increased acidity of rain and snow) is an international 
     
     problem. Tall smoke stacks in Canada and the United States spew millions of 
     
     tons of sulfur and nitrogen oxides into the air (by-products of the burning_ V 
     
     of fossil fuels and smelting of certain ores) which combine with water droplets 
     
     and fall as acid rain or snow many miles from the source. ' 
     
    
   
   
    
     According to Rick Pratt of the Canadian Nature Federation, one of the sponsoring 
     
     organizations, the need for the conference is paramount because the action of 
     
     governments, industry and the public at large will ultimately determine whether 
     
     thousands of lakes in Canada and the United States continue to support abundant 
     
     wildlife or go the way of certain lakes in the Adirondack mountains of New York 
     
     and Haliburton-Muskoka area of Ontario which are no longer able to support 
     
    

    
     many types of fish. "The situation is critical", he said. "Over the last 
     
     decade, some lakes in Ontario have lost 40 to 75 percent of their ability to 
     
     neutralize acid. Once buffering reserves are depleted, small amounts of acid 
     
     cause large changes which in turn can cause lakes to become too acidic to 
     
     support many forms of aquatic life." 
     
    
   
   
    
     Besides affecting the water and its inhabitants, acid rain can cause soils to 
     
     lose fertility and directly damage sensitive plants. It may also release toxic 
     
     heavy metals such as mercury, copper, lead, nickel, aluminum and zinc otherwise 
     
     bound to soils and lake sediments. 
     
    
   
   
    
     Although no direct human health problems have yet been revealed, acidic water in 
     
     metal plumbing may increase copper and lead concentrations in household water. 
     
     Commercial fisheries may be ruined by increased toxic heavy metal concentrations 
     
     in fish. Acid rain can also affect paint on automobiles and buildings.