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| Dimensions: 6'' x 9'' |
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| 279 pages |
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AEI Press
(Washington)
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| Publication Date: December 2007 |
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| Paperback |
| ISBN: 978-0-8447-7187-8 |
| Price: $ 20.00 |
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Read the full text of Air Quality in America as an Adobe Acrobat PDF
Read the press release for Air Quality in America
Polls consistently show that most Americans believe air pollution has been getting worse and will continue to worsen in the future. Recent data, however, suggest just the opposite: Air pollution levels have been dropping for decades and will continue to do so in the years to come.
The disconnect between public perception and reality is due in part to misleading, high-profile reports on air pollution by environmental activists, which consistently inflate current air pollution levels while downplaying favorable trends in air quality. Activists believe that air pollution will rise dramatically in the future unless the federal government enacts aggressive new regulations.
Air Quality in America shows in detail how activists have distorted the record on air pollution and offers an alternative analysis of air pollution levels, trends, and prospects in metropolitan areas across the United States. Schwartz and Hayward examine key air pollution issues, including inflated accounts of pollution-related health risks and the negative effects of inaccurate emission inventories on policy choices.
Clearly understanding the data on air pollution in America must be the first step toward formulating sound policies for the future. This book is a unique resource, providing scholars, journalists, and policymakers with decades of information on air pollution.
Joel M. Schwartz is a visiting fellow at AEI.
Steven F. Hayward is the F. K. Weyerhaeuser Fellow at AEI and the primary author of the annual Index of Leading Environmental Indicators.
Table of Contents
Introduction
The Five Main Findings of This Study
Conclusion
1. Air Quality Trends Before and After the Clean Air Act of 1970
Before the Clean Air Act: Steady Improvements in Air Quality
Why Did Air Quality Improve Before the Clean Air Act?
More Driving, More Energy, More Economic Activity...and Less Air Pollution
Trends in Nitrogen Dioxide, Sulfur Dioxide, and Carbon Monoxide
Hazardous Air Pollutants
Conclusion
2. Ozone: Historic Trends and Current Conditions
National Trends in Ozone Levels
The Chemistry of Slower Progress on 8-Hour Ozone Levels
Conclusion
3. Particulates: Historic Trends and Current Conditions
National Trends in Particulate Matter (PM10 and PM2.5)
Trends in PM2.5
Trends in PM10
Conclusion
4. Why Air Pollution Will Continue to Decline
Overview of National Pollution Emission Trends
Emission Sources
Continuing Declines in Motor Vehicle Emissions
Continuing Declines in Industrial Emissions
Existing Requirements Will Eliminate Most Remaining Pollution Emissions
Conclusion
5. Exaggerating Air Pollution Levels; Obscuring Positive Trends
Americans' Perception of Air Pollution
Inflating Air Pollution Levels
Counting Clean Areas as Polluted
Same Failing Grades for High- and Low-Pollution Areas
Air Quality: Much Worse on Paper than in Reality
Refuting Their Own Claims
Making Air Pollution Decreases Look like Pollution Increases
Climate Change and Air Pollution
Conclusion
6. How Many Americans Live in Areas That Violate Federal Air Pollution Standards? Far Fewer Than You Think
Who Really Lives in Areas That Violate Federal Pollution Standards?
7. Air Pollution and Health
How Do Scientists Assess Air Pollution's Health Effects?
Does Air Pollution Kill?
Does Air Pollution Cause People to Develop Asthma?
Does Air Pollution Cause Permanent Lung Damage?
Does Air Pollution Aggravate Preexisting Health Problems?
Laboratory Studies and Short-Term Air Pollution Health Effects
Does Air Pollution Cause Cancer?
Health Benefits from Air Pollution?
Mercury and Health
Conclusion: Regulatory Costs and Americans' Health
8. Has the Clean Air Act Been Good for Americans?
A Process-Focused System
Environmentalists, Regulators, and Other Special Interests
War without End
Better Ways to Achieve Cleaner Air
Conclusion
