required to protect sensitive ecosystems. Lakes and streams in the Adirondack Mountains are projected to continue to acidify, even though sulfuric acid deposition has declined, Uhart said. The failure of the 1990 CAA to fix the acid rain problem can be explained by new research on the role of nitrogen in acidification and the loss of buffering capacity in soils, said Charles Driscoll, environmental engineering professor at Syracuse University. The 1990 amendments focused on controlling sulfur dioxide emissions, which mix with rain or snow to form sulfuric acid, Driscoll said. He and his colleagues at the Hubbard Brook Ecosystem Study in New York have measured sulfate decreases of 45% in precipitation and 30% in stream water since 1963. Still, Hubbard Brook has failed to recover, showing little improvement in acid levels in rain, snow, and stream water. Part of the reason, Driscoll said, is that soils have lost more of their buffering capacity than scientists originally expected. Cations in the soil, such as calcium, act like stomach antacids, neutralizing the effects of acid precipitation. Driscoll found that soil calcium in Hubbard Brook has dropped more than 50% since 1950, dramatically slowing the ability to recover from reduced acid inputs. The U.S. Geological Survey has linked calcium depletion in soils to acid rain in the eastern United States (ES&T, June 1, 1999, p. 235A). New data from Hubbard Brook show that nitrogen may now constitute 25-50% of the acid in precipitation, Driscoll said. Nitrogen oxide emissions from cars, trucks, and power plants mix with rain and snow to form nitric acid, he explained. High-elevation forests in the southern Appalachian Mountains, Colorado Front Range, and the San Gabriel Mountains near Los Angeles are saturated with nitrogen, which acidifies soils and streams, Uhart said. "What is needed to protect sensitive ecosystems is more cuts in sulfur emissions and a focus
on nitrogen emissions," concluded Jack Cosby, environmental science professor at the University of Virginia. Two environmental groups, Trout Unlimited and the Adirondack Council, have called for deeper cuts in S0 2 emissions and a cap on nitrogen emissions. However, an electric industry representative argued that new legislation is not needed. Environmental scientists and engineers are incorporating the new research on nitrogen into models that predict ecosystem response to acid rain reductions, but much remains to be under-
stood about nitrogen's role, Cosby cautioned. Meanwhile, Sen. Daniel Patrick Moynihan (D-N.Y.) introduced legislation this year that would amend the Clean Air Act to establish a year-round cap and trade program for nitrogen oxide emissions from utilities and a further 50% cut in sulfur dioxide emissions. The legislation has garnered support from scientists such as Driscoll, who praised the bill's provisions for adaptive management and continued funding for monitoring. Two other similar bills also are pending in Congress. —JANET PELLEY
Is ailing U.S. environmental industry missing opportunities overseas? In April, Environmental Information Ltd. released figures showing continued declines in the environmental services industry. Some industry observers charge that U.S. firms have compounded their woes by ignoring overseas opportunities. The U.S. environmental industry's service sector has been on a steep and steady downward slide since 1993, according to Cary Perket, senior analyst at Environmental Information Ltd. Between 1996 and 1998, the number of active firms fell by 13%, making the total drop since 1993 a discouraging 39%. Small firms have been the hardest hit, Perket said, noting that his firm's surveys cover laboratories, consultants, hazardous waste management, and remediation. Larger firms, which he defines as having more than 100 employees, have actually seen an upturn in business over the last year, he explained. Services have been hit hard, agreed Grant Ferrier, chief executive officer of Environmental Business International (EBI), another firm that conducts regular environmental industry surveys. Though EBI's preliminary figures for 1998 suggest the service sector's fiveyear decline is in the less-dramatic 20% range, Ferrier acknowledged that the entire environmental industry was "in a period of stagnation." His organization's figures
2 3 4 A • JUNE 1, 1999/ENVIRONMENTAL SCIENCE & TECHNOLOGY / NEWS
nonetheless show the industry doing "a little better" in 1998 than it did in 1997 or 1996. EBI's figures also show that the international environmental technology market is booming. The markets in Asia, Latin America, and Africa are expected to grow at least 10% annually between 1999 and 2002. The U.S. industry is "behind the other developed countries in exploiting the export market because they've been so used to being fat and happy at home," charged Miriam Pemberton, a research fellow at the Institute for Policy Studies, a Washington, D.C., think tank that annually publishes reports on environmental technology exports. Though Ferrier disagreed with the contention that U.S. firms were going after the wrong market, both he and Pemberton faulted the U.S. government for failing to provide sufficient support to help environmental companies tackle the export market. Countries like Germany, France, England, and Japan have "much more concerted, well-financed strategies," Pemberton said. The Environmental Industry Coalition, a group Ferrier helped found last year to promote the industry's needs, is actively trying to promote the passage of legislation to accelerate the industry's trade exports, Ferrier said. —KELLYN BETTS
