By Michael Perley and Adele Hurley
The Canadian Coalition on Acid Rain played an important role in raising concerns of acid rain. Listen to Michael Perley and Adele Hurley, executive co-ordinators and chief lobbyists of the coalition tell their story about their battle to eliminate acid rain in both Canada and the United States.
News Clips and Other Documents
Michael Perley’s speech on government relations [PDF]
Toronto Star: Who’s stopping the rain? [PDF]
Toronto Star: Who’s stopping the rain (07/02/1989) [PDF]
Rain Man: City & Country Home editorial April 1989 [PDF]
The long, tough road to the acid-rain accord [PDF]
Canadian activists signal victory in fight against [PDF]
Baltimore Sun: ACID RAIN: Before It’s Too Late [PDF]
“Why don’t you just go back up to Canada and tell your government that they’d better clean up its own act and then maybe….”
It took 10 years for acid rain to become a household word.
Acid rain became a prominent environmental issue after a Canadian study revealed that pollution causes acid rain, which damages the environment, which in turn threatens human health and quality of life. In 1980, Adele Hurley and Michael Perley founded the Canadian Coalition on Acid Rain to make this issue part of the political agenda in Canada and the United States. They first targeted Washington D.C., to persuade US senators to acknowledge that acid rain was an important issue and that a law should be passed should control air emissions. This is the story behind how the the United States’ Environmental Protection Agency’s Clean Air Act was passed.
Listen to this story to learn about Michael Perley and Adele Hurley’s experiences along their journey to kill acid rain.
ABOUT BEGINNINGS
Beginnings is a project initiated by the Environmental Commissioner of Ontario in celebration of the 20th anniversary of the Environmental Bill of Rights. It captures the stories and memories of the people who were involved in the significant environmental events and organizations. Tune in to hear how they contributed to the evolving history of environmental protection in Ontario.