Several bills that would end acid rain are pending in Congress.

Recently, Gov. George Pataki of New York proposed that the governors of the surrounding 10 states, including all of New England, join together to form an interstate compact on climate change.

The purpose would be to set a cap on total carbon emissions from all participating states and to create a market system by which carbon credits could be sold or traded between industries in the region.

The object would be to reduce the emissions that contribute to climate change and global warming while using the marketplace to make compliance easier on the affected industries.

The “cap and trade” concept would be modeled after the existing federal program on acid rain, which is one of the biggest success stories in regulatory history. While several states have already launched their own carbon reduction initiatives, the benefits of a regional approach made sense to the respective governors, and they are moving forward.

One of the other worthwhile approaches to solving climate change and global warming is carbon sequestration. Simply stated, we intentionally protect and improve forest cover on the land, and the trees and plants absorb carbon emissions and store them. The largest carbon sink of this kind east of the Mississippi River is here in the Northeast. The Northern Forest, a largely unbroken mass of 16 million acres of forested land, stretches from New York’s Adirondack Mountains to Maine.

But we can’t count on the Northern Forest to absorb carbon if the trees are dying or diseased, or the soils are being depleted of minerals necessary for plant growth and regeneration. And that is what is happening right now.

In the Midwest, coal-fired electric power plants are releasing tons of pollutants, primarily of sulfur and nitrogen. These pollutants combine with water in the atmosphere and land as acid rain or snow in the Adirondacks of New York, the White Mountains of New Hampshire, and the Green mountains of Vermont and throughout the state of Maine.

The results are devastating. Lakes become too acidic for their native species. Trees become weak, deprived of the essential minerals that are being washed away from the soils by the acid bath from above. Tree growth slows or stops altogether, or entire species become vulnerable to insects, disease or the harsh effects of the winter.

The devastating impacts of acid rain on the Northern Forest are well-documented by scientists from the Hubbard Brook Institute of New Hampshire, the U.S. Geological Survey and the Ecological Society of America, among other reputable scientists. The on-going devastation has been clearly outlined in several reports to Congress by federal agencies in recent years.

Gov. Pataki and his fellow governors are taking action on carbon because of their conviction that Congress is deadlocked on the issue of global warming will not take any action soon. Unfortunately, that is the case.

While the Senate is expected to vote this fall on a comprehensive carbon bill sponsored by Sens. John McCain and Joseph Lieberman, passage is uncertain and the bill will only be taken up in the Senate.

But there is more that can be done. Several bills that would end acid rain are pending in Congress. Virtually every senator and congressman in the Northern Forest region of New York, Maine, New Hampshire and Vermont sponsor one or more of the bills that would expand the current federal program to reduce sulfur emissions and create a new cap and trade plan to govern nitrogen emissions, as well. Most also seek a mandatory cap on total carbon emissions to address climate change.

There is virtual consensus in Congress on the need for and how to reduce acid rain. But the members from other regions are adamant that no mandatory caps on carbon be included in acid rain legislation. President Bush, while supporting a strong new program on acid rain, is also not willing to consider carbon caps this year.

The carbon issue threatens to stall all progress on clean air this year. Should it? Is that in the best interest of the residents of the Northeast? To do nothing?

If Congress acted only on acid rain this year, it would represent much more than incremental progress for the Northeast.

Taking action on acid rain and improving the health of the Northern Forest also will be a positive step on global warming. If we stop acid rain, we give our forests a chance to recover and revive, which will in turn diminish the effects of climate change by sequestering carbon and cooling the earth.

The components of acid rain, sulfur and nitrogen, are also major contributors to harmful ozone in the summer, and to the airborne particulates that aggravate respiratory diseases like asthma. The acidic precipitation eats away at our monuments and historic buildings – costing millions to repair – and the deposition of excess nitrogen in our waterways degrades our coastal areas, from Long Island Sound to the Coast of Maine.

The governors of New York and New England would have preferred that there was a federal program for carbon reductions. But they are also practical and have chosen to do what can be done.

Now is the time for Congress to do the same. There is no opposition to ending acid rain. Politics is the art of the possible. It would be a shame if they came home empty-handed.

Bernard C. Melewski is deputy director of the Adirondack Council.