Environment: Strains on a Friendship

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Canadian Prime Minister Brian Mulroney and President Ronald Reagan sang and swapped jokes about their Irish heritage on St. Patrick's Day three years ago at the "Shamrock Summit" in Quebec City, but their friendship has soured since then. Last week it bottomed out over the unresolved problem of acid rain. Much of the pollution that falls on Canada is caused by the burning of coal and other fuels by U.S. industries. In a speech in New York City, Mulroney angrily declared, "It's ruining our lakes, it's killing our rivers, it's ruining our forests."

Under strong domestic pressure to extract a commitment from the U.S. to / decrease acid rain, Mulroney lashed out at the Reagan Administration's wait- and-study attitude. "Friendship has inescapable costs," said he. "One of them is bearing whatever burdens are required to avoid polluting your neighbor's property." Although the two leaders will hold another summit later this month, Mulroney acknowledged that he must wait for Reagan's successor to see any results.