The Economics Of Clean Air Essay Research

The Economics Of Clean Air Essay, Research Paper Air is a part of all of our lives. Without clean air, nothing we know of can exist. The debate over clean air, it’s regulations, their teammates and opposition, and the economic factors coming into play into this ever-more recognizable problem is a widespread and ever more controversial one. Like a long countdown to eventual disaster, the pollution effecting our world has no doubt made increasingly more impact on our daily lives, and has increased the intensity on Washington and other countries to solve the problem. The Clean Air act is a step in the right direction, but with every answer their comes two questions and likewise more and more people taking sides. There have been long debates not over the effectiveness of such

regulations, but the lack of opportunity such regulations and deregulations provide for other companies. Global warming has increased the tension over the economics of cleaner air, but with little the government can do to limit the use of cars, the production of necessary coal-fired power plants and other such human resources, the topic just turns into another fog for debate and argument over stricter regulations and the impeached right these sources have to operate. The continual power struggle of such economic and social issues and the debate over the effectiveness of stricter, present or more lenient regulations has turned into a smorgasboard of prectical solutions, with opponents quickly changing minds and becoming supporters and vice-versa. The expenditure of about 20

billion on the part of companies since 1990 to clean up such hazardous pollutants as cars, factories, and thousands of other measures have reaped about 400 billion in saved hospital costs, lost workdays, reduced productivity, and other conditions while at the same time theoretically helping to reduce smog and pollution. The findings of a report on experiments done for the Clean Air act was passed into law in 1970. The Enviornmental Protection Agency has recently come under attack by critics however, and Washington has threatened to cut the agencies’ budget citing high costs of enviornmental legislation, even while their is solid proof that the agencies’ measures are paying off. Congress is skeptical of reports that the whole system is reaping more benefits on the enviorment

than the whole operation actually costs. Economically, the Clean Air Act is definitly sound and good for the economy. For example, American fishermen average $24 billion a year in expenditures and ultimately generate $69 billion yearly for the economy. Moreover, the average American worker recieves $20 in value in reduced risks of death, illness, and other adverse effects for every dollar spent to control air pollution. All in all, the country spent roughly $436 billion enforcing clean air regulations, and gained about $6.8 trillion in benefits in 1990. The amounts of harmful chemicals and pollutants in the air has also found to be dramatically reduced since 1970. 40 percent of sulfer dioxide in the air has been reduced, as well as 30 percent of nitrous oxide, and 50 percent of

carbon monoxide. As well as air, the EPA has produced results in protecting our nation’s waterways. For example, the Clean Water Act, which passed in 1972, has since given states grants of $66 million to help install water sewage treatment plants. They also found that the act has required the industry to install tens of billions of dollars of anti-polltion technology. The effect on the liquid industry has been enormous. Boating sales generate $14 billion alone while fishermen produce $3 million, and the nation spends an estimated $35 million anually for fish. The economics of the Clean Air Act and the regulations pioneered by the EPA have set new standards for the production of companies. Under the current regulations, there is a set amount of pollution that can be produced in