Acid Rain and the Politics of Science

Abstract

Legislation to reduce the pollutants that cause acid rain has been opposed by a powerful coalition consisting chiefly of the midwestern electric utilities, the coal industry, and their supporters in the Reagan Administration and Congress. These opponents of acid rain controls have cited “scientific uncertainty” as the official explanation for inaction. “In light of the widespread uncertainty surrounding the causes and effects of acid precipitation,” wrote the Edison Electric Institute, “additional emission controls on existing coal–fired power plants are not warranted at this time.”¹³³ The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency and other agencies in the Reagan Administration supported the utilities’ contention, arguing that “scientific uncertainties in the causes and effects of acid rain demand that we proceed cautiously and avoid premature action.”⁶