MORE TROUBLE WITH SAURER REGEN
Acid precipitation is having ill effects on a number of Atlantic salmon rivers in Canada. Dr. Walton D. Watt of Canada's Department of Fisheries and Oceans in Halifax, Nova Scotia says that 10 Atlantic salmon rivers in that province are now acidified and unable to support fish. In 11 other Nova Scotia rivers, Watt says, the number of salmon has declined as the acidity of the water has increased. In Quebec, Department of Fisheries and Oceans scientists are studying the effects of acid precipitation on four salmon rivers on the north shore of the St. Lawrence. There are no apparent adverse effects on three of the rivers, but the fourth, the Ste. Marguerite, a tributary of the Grand Saguenay, has high levels of aluminum, a toxic metal that acid precipitation can leach from soils.
There are also signs of trouble in the watershed of another north shore river, the Moisie, one of the world's great Atlantic salmon rivers. Dr. Karl Schiefer, an independent salmon consultant who has been studying the Moisie for 12 years, says that based on spot samples, some of its tributaries are showing sudden increases in acidity. Schiefer also notes that tailings from an iron mine are being dumped into a tributary of the Moisie and that these tailings contain high levels of mercury which acid precipitation can make biologically available. "We're seeing elevated levels of mercury in the sediments," Schiefer warns. "There it can enter the food chain. The major part of the diet for juvenile trout and salmon is benthic invertebrates—mayflies, caddis flies and stone flies—and when fish eat them, they can wind up doubling or tripling the contamination levels that exist in the invertebrates." This summer Schiefer plans to do mercury analyses offish to see whether, and to what extent, the contamination may have spread.
But the Canadian government doesn't want to wait for further evidence of acid precipitation damage. The damage already known to have occurred within its borders is bad enough. During negotiations in Washington last week on a proposed transboundary air-pollution agreement between the two countries, Canada offered to achieve by 1990 a 50% reduction of its emissions of sulphur dioxide, a principal source of acid precipitation, provided the U.S. agrees to take similar action. Much of the pollution that causes acid rain in the Northeastern U.S. and Canada originates in the U.S., but a favorable response by Washington to the proposal is by no means certain. A Canadian government official complains that the U.S. has been "less than forthcoming with suggestions" during the two years that talks on possible joint U.S.-Canadian action have taken place.
In addition to dragging its feet in negotiations with Canada, the Reagan Administration is trying to weaken the Clean Air Act of 1970 even though what's needed to combat acid rain is a strengthening of that law. The Administration's position bodes ill not only for Canada and the Northeastern U.S. but also for other afflicted areas. Last week a California legislative committee on acid rain was told that pH readings of as low as 2.2, an acidity level as bad as those found anywhere else in the U.S., were detected during a study of acid fog in the Los Angeles area conducted for the state's Air Resources Board by Michael Hoffmann, a Cal Tech associate professor of environmental engineering science. The board's chairwoman, Mary Nichols, invoked Hoffmann's findings to argue against changes in the Clean Air Act favored by the White House that would undermine a California program to control motor vehicle emissions, a major cause of acid precipitation in the state. So far, all such pleas have fallen on deaf ears within the Administration. Given that sorry fact, it hardly seems too mischievous to note that acid rain in German is saurer Regen.
THE LONG ARM OF THE LAW
It may be a good thing for Paul Westphal, whose services are the subject of a dispute between the New York Knicks and the Seattle SuperSonics, that he went ahead and signed an offer sheet with the struggling Knicks after paying them a visit last week. Arriving at Kennedy Airport to iron out details of the agreement, the former All-Star guard had no sooner entered a waiting limousine than a squad car driven by one of New York's Finest pulled alongside. Over the police car's loudspeaker came this ominous warning: "Don't leave town without signing a contract."
A VACATION AT LAST
Tommy Lasorda arrived at the Los Angeles Dodgers' training camp in Vero Beach, Fla. last week to manage the defending world champions for the 1982 season. That's Lasorda's job, but to judge by his schedule in the days leading up to his arrival, he probably felt he was on vacation when he donned his Dodger uniform.
On Jan. 31 Lasorda spoke at a baseball writers' dinner in New York City. On Feb. 1 he attended a dinner in Philadelphia. On Feb. 2, 3 and 4 he appeared, respectively, in Erie, Pa., Niles, Ohio and Meadville, Pa. After a whirlwind three-day round of Chamber of Commerce and other engagements in Florida, he went to Hamilton, Ont. on Feb. 8 (sports celebrity night), El Paso on Feb. 9 (a speech), Sioux Falls, S. Dak. on Feb. 10 (B'nai B'rith sports banquet) and Toronto on Feb. 11 (Easter Seal benefit). There followed appearances in Youngstown, Ohio; Tucson; Los Angeles; Aurora, Ill.; Los Angeles again and Albuquerque. During one stretch, Lasorda made 16 appearances in 15 cities in 18 days.
This itinerary was supplied by the Dodger speakers bureau and covers only appearances the club was aware of. Noting that the garrulous, airport-hopping Lasorda may have added other engagements himself, team officials apologized that the list may be incomplete.