Trilateral Cooperation
Ultimately, all of the issues discussed here have global implications, but many workshop participants believed that it would be wise, and more feasible, for the United States, Mexico and Canada to first look for solutions on a trilateral basis. Whatever happens here, good or bad, will likely become a model for much of the rest of the world. Through the course of the workshop, the following items were mentioned as particularly good opportunities for more collaboration and information sharing among the three countries:
Scientific Issues
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mobile source emission inventories
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air quality monitoring
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atmospheric modeling studies to determine cross-boundary transport of particulates, ozone, acidic species
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understanding the long-term impacts of air pollution on human health and ecosystem productivity
Technological and policy issues
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assessing the successes and failures of different policies used to drive technological development (including cleaner fuels) and to change individual use decisions considering the interplay among zoning, development, transportation, and the environment
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public education/information campaigns
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ensuring that transboundary pollution issues are taken into account when developing environmental, economic, and trade legislation
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developing cleaner technologies for transcontinental shipping of goods
