Editing Acid rain (section)

=== In Canada ===

Canadian Harold Harvey was among the first to research a "dead" lake. In 1971, he and R. J. Beamish published a report, "Acidification of the La Cloche Mountain Lakes", documenting the gradual deterioration of fish stocks in 60 lakes in [[Killarney Provincial Park|Killarney Park]] in Ontario, which they had been studying systematically since 1966.<ref>{{cite book |last1=Albin |first1=Tom |last2=Paulsen |first2=Steve |editor1-last=Schmandt |editor1-first=Jurgen |editor2-last=Roderick |editor2-first=Hilliard |title=Acid Rain and Friendly Neighbors: The Policy Dispute Between Canada and the United States |date=1985 |publisher=Duke University Press |isbn=9780822308706 |page=129 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=U22AxXheqpAC |access-date=December 5, 2021 |chapter=5: Environmental and Economic Interests in Canada and the United States}}</ref>

In the 1970s and 80s, acid rain was a major topic of research at the [[Experimental Lakes Area|Experimental Lakes Area (ELA)]] in [[Ontario|Northwestern Ontario, Canada]].<ref name=":2">{{Cite web|date=February 12, 2020|title=IISD Experimental Lakes Area: The world's living freshwater laboratory|url=http://www.biolabmag.com/iisd-experimental-lakes-area-living-freshwater-laboratory/|access-date=2020-07-06|website=BioLab Business Magazine|archive-date=July 7, 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200707002517/http://www.biolabmag.com/iisd-experimental-lakes-area-living-freshwater-laboratory/|url-status=live}}</ref> Researchers added [[sulfuric acid]] to whole lakes in controlled ecosystem experiments to simulate the effects of acid rain. Because its remote conditions allowed for whole-ecosystem experiments, research at the ELA showed that the effect of acid rain on fish populations started at concentrations much lower than those observed in laboratory experiments.<ref name=":3">{{Cite news|last=Luoma|first=Jon R.|date=September 13, 1988|title=Bold Experiment in Lakes Tracks the Relentless Toll of Acid Rain|work=The New York Times|url=https://www.nytimes.com/1988/09/13/science/bold-experiment-in-lakes-tracks-the-relentless-toll-of-acid-rain.html|access-date=2020-07-06 |archive-date=July 7, 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200707073307/https://www.nytimes.com/1988/09/13/science/bold-experiment-in-lakes-tracks-the-relentless-toll-of-acid-rain.html|url-status=live}}</ref> In the context of a [[food web]], fish populations crashed earlier than when acid rain had direct toxic effects to the fish because the acidity led to crashes in [[Predation|prey]] populations (e.g. [[Mysida|mysids]]).<ref name=":3" /> As experimental acid inputs were reduced, fish populations and lake ecosystems recovered at least partially, although [[Invertebrate|invertebrate populations]] have still not completely returned to the baseline conditions.<ref>{{Cite web|date=May 16, 2018|title=A Canadian Scientist Explains How Acid Rain is Still Making its Mark|url=https://www.iisd.org/ela/blog/research-highlights/acid-rain-totally-last-century-right-not-exactly-canadian-scientist-explains-acid-rain-still-making-mark/|access-date=2020-07-06|website=IISD Experimental Lakes Area|archive-date=July 6, 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200706171557/https://www.iisd.org/ela/blog/research-highlights/acid-rain-totally-last-century-right-not-exactly-canadian-scientist-explains-acid-rain-still-making-mark/|url-status=live}}</ref> This research showed both that acidification was linked to declining fish populations and that the effects could be reversed if sulfuric acid emissions decreased, and influenced policy in Canada and the United States.<ref name=":2" />

In 1985, seven Canadian provinces (all except [[British Columbia]], [[Alberta]], and [[Saskatchewan]]) and the [[Government of Canada|federal government]] signed the Eastern Canada Acid Rain Program.<ref name=":4">{{Cite web|last=Canada|first=Environment and Climate Change|date=June 3, 2004|title=Acid rain history|url=https://www.canada.ca/en/environment-climate-change/services/air-pollution/issues/acid-rain-causes-effects/history.html|access-date=2020-07-06|website=aem|archive-date=July 7, 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200707073349/https://www.canada.ca/en/environment-climate-change/services/air-pollution/issues/acid-rain-causes-effects/history.html|url-status=live}}</ref> The provinces agreed to limit their combined sulfur dioxide emissions to 2.3 million tonnes by 1994. The Canada-US Air Quality Agreement was signed in 1991.<ref name=":4" /> In 1998, all federal, [[Provinces and territories of Canada|provincial, and territorial]] Ministers of Energy and Environment signed The Canada-Wide Acid Rain Strategy for Post-2000, which was designed to protect lakes that are more sensitive than those protected by earlier policies.<ref name=":4" />