| Contents Notes |
Introduction -- The five main findings of this study -- The nation has sharply reduced air pollution levels, despite large increases in nominally "polluting" activities -- Areas of the nation with the highest pollution levels have improved the most -- Air quality will continue to improve -- Regulators and environmental activists exaggerate air pollution levels and obscure positive trends -- Air pollution affects far fewer people, far less often, and with far less severity than is commonly believed -- 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 (PMb10s and PMb2s.b5s) -- Trends in PMb2s.b5s -- Trends in PMb10s -- Conclusion -- 4. Why air pollution will continue to decline -- Overview of national pollution emission trends -- Emissions 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 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 -- Appendixes -- Chapter 2 : state-by-state ozone trends -- Chapter 3. : state-by-state PMb2s.b5s trends -- Chapter 6 : how we estimated the number of people living in areas that violate pollution standards. "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 air pollution data."--Jacket. |
