The emissions from large coal-fired power plants and other industrial sources in Eastern Canada are among the leading contributors to acid precipitation, which is causing serious environmental damage and destruction in the Adirondack Park region . . . Mr. Spitzer noted that as many as one in five Adirondack lakes in northeastern New York are now so acidic that fish can't live in them. In the toughly worded letter, obtained by The Globe and Mail, Mr. Spitzer also blamed Ontario smog for contributing to asthma, respiratory ailments, eye problems and even premature death among New Yorkers. I respectfully urge you to demand that Canada promptly address its own power plants' excessive emissions. Hal Vincent, spokesman for Ontario Environment Minister Dan Newman, said the province has acknowledged that coal plants are a problem, but has not yet decided what to do with them.
Smog knows no boundaries.
Mr. Spitzer's letter, dated July 5, comes as Canada and the United States are working on a new agreement on smog that would amend the landmark 1981 Acid Rain Treaty. The talks are scheduled to resume next month at Meech Lake, Que., near Ottawa. When we are asking the United States to reduce emissions, we should be coming to the table with clean hands. A new smog deal could be put at risk unless Ontario does something about its coal-fired power plants, he added. The administration of U.S. President Bill Clinton has just won a court case that allows it to crack down on smog emissions from power plants in the Midwest.