Clean Air Act of 1990
The 1990 Clean air Act amendments reduced sulfur dioxide and nitrogen oxide by instituting a two phase cap and trade program. Phase I applied to the largest sources of emissions, and phase II applied to nearly all fossil fuel power plants. Additionally, this act required the complete phase-out of lead in fuels by 1995 and encouraged the use of low sulfur fuels. It mandated the use of Best Available Control Technologies (BACT) for major sources of pollution. These amendments authorized a program to control 189 toxic pollutants, including those previously regulated by the National Emission Standards for Hazardous Air Pollutants. Finally, these amendments mandated the phase-out of certain ozone depleting CFCs, including some refrigerants.
Commentary
Cry Wolf Quotes
[Further decreasing auto emissions] is not feasible or necessary and that congressional dictates to do so would be financially ruinous.
Initiatives such as the acid rain legislation would, in this respect, achieve only the dubious distinction of moving the United States towards the status of a second-class industrial power by the end of the century.
This study leaves little doubt that a minimum of 200,000 (plus) jobs will be quickly lost, with plants closing in dozens of states. This number could easily exceed 1 million jobs-and even 2 million jobs--at the more extreme assumptions about residual risk.
In January 1990, the DuPont Company testified that accelerating the phase-out of ozone-depleting CFCs to July 1, 1996, would cause ‘severe economic and social disruption.’
Evidence
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Blind Spot: The Big Three's Attack on the Global Warming Treaty
eleased during the controversy over the Kyoto Treaty, this study is a serious policy paper, exploring the intersections between transit policy and global warming. It fairly establishes the Big Three have as long history of stubborn obstructionism. (They don't like anyone telling them what to do.)
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EPA: “Benefits and Costs of the Clean Air Act: Second Prospective Study—1990-2020”
Clean Air Act benefits total more than $2 trillion.
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Industry Opposition to Government Regulation
The real costs of specific regulations, in chart form.
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Jobs vs. The Environment: An Industry-Level Study
Four industries that operate under intense environmental regulatory scrutiny, but haven't lost jobs as a result.
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Benefits and Costs of the Clean Air Act - 1990 to 2010
The monetizable benefits of the Clean Air Act are four times greater than the costs.
Backgrounders & Briefs
Good Rules: Ten Stories Of Successful Regulation
Demos looks at ten laws and rules that we take for granted.
