| Sumario: | Conclusions about the role of scientific knowledge in shaping environmental policy, such as the acid rain case, have tended to focus on contemporary events and to suggest the responsiveness of governments to scientific research. This article looks instead at the scientific evidence of acidification problems in Ontario prior to the 1970s, indeed back to the 1920s, and considers the lack of governmental response to a mounting body of scientific evidence over the twentieth century regarding forest damage from sulphur fumes. Until the 1970s the evidence was consistently disregarded or set aside by policy-makers intent on ensuring the Ontario smelter industry continue in unrestricted fashion. This case study reveals how science, rather than be an effective influence for such change, can be ignored in the making of public policy and how further research can displace policy change.
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