Power Engineering - Report Describes Dramatic Improvement is U.S. Air Quality

America's air quality has dramatically improved since passage of the Clean Air Act in 1970, and continues to improve despite robust economic growth. However, nearly three-quarters of the American public believes air quality has either deteriorated or stayed the same, according to an August public opinion poll and a new study of government data.

"There's a clear disconnect between the nation's significant emission reduction progress and public perception," said William D. Fay, President of the Foundation for Clean Air Progress (FCAP), which commissioned the study and survey from Meszler Engineering Services and Wirthlin Worldwide, respectively.

The Clean Air Act sets health-based National Ambient Air Quality Standards (NAAQS) for the six most dangerous pollutants: nitrogen dioxide, sulfur dioxide, lead, carbon monoxide, ozone and particulates. EPA's own monitoring data show Americans are breathing far healthier air than was the case in 1970. According to EPA's most recent data, collected in 2001-2002:

Ozone and particulates are a special case, Fay observed, because Congress tightened the standards for these pollutants in 1997. Nevertheless, in ozone non-attainment areas, the number of hours of exceedence has dropped by more than 75% using the original NAAQS and more than 55% using the revised standard. "Stated differently," explained Fay, "the average non-attainment area attained the original health standard for ozone during 8,752 of the 8,760 hours in a year. For the tougher new standard, the average was 8,702 hours of attainment. These accomplishments are truly spectacular."

Meszler Engineering Services based its findings on EPA data collected at nearly 10,000 monitors in 2001-2002, the most recent period for which data is available. "We looked at the government's own information – an unprecedented 111,000,000 bits of data – when performing our study, so there's no question about its validity and accuracy," said Meszler. "Air quality in the U.S. is substantially better today than at any time since data collection began in earnest in the 1970s."

However, according to the Wirthlin Worldwide survey, seven out of ten Americans believe overall air quality has either diminished or stayed the same. "With so many Americans unaware of the dramatic air quality improvements, what we've got is a 'clean little secret,'" Fay said.

The Wirthlin study found gender, age, race and regional and partisan variations in how air quality is perceived. Males were more optimistic than females about air quality. Older adults were significantly more likely than younger adults to perceive improved air quality. African Americans were more pessimistic than Caucasians and Hispanics, and residents of the Northeast and Midwest were more likely than those of the West and South to perceive improved air quality since passage of the Clean Air Act. Republicans were more likely than Democrats or Independents to report air quality had improved both nationally and locally.

Fay believes there are two stunning paradoxes here. The first is that while air quality has improved since 1970, major economic indicators have risen as well. The nation is producing more, driving more, consuming more energy, and generally, riding a three-decade wave of economic expansion. "While logic might suggest that robust growth should generate more air pollution, the opposite is true. We have both healthier air and a healthy economy," said Fay.

The study spotlighted the electricity generating industry as a clear example of this congruence. Today, the nation consumes 56% more electricity than it did in 1985. Yet, today's nitrogen dioxide and sulfur dioxide emissions are approximately half of what they would have been had the industry not taken action to reduce pollution. And future pollution control plans will bring reductions to over 80%. In short, the industry has lowered, and will continue to lower, emissions in spite of continued growth in demand – a living example of the first paradox.

The second paradox is the 'disconnect' between perception and clean air reality. The Wirthlin Worldwide study found a mere 29% of Americans believe air quality in the U.S. has improved and only 28% believe it will improve in the future. "Public perceptions are so dramatically out of sync with reality that one must wonder why government and industry can't communicate the facts. Clearly, the positive story about clean air progress, the billions of dollars invested in cleaning the air and the nation's economic growth is not being told," noted Fay.

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