Air Pollution Countdown

Report Outline
Special Focus

Overview

Ten years after Congress last tightened the Clean Air Act, millions of Americans still are breathing polluted air. More than 60 of this country's metropolitan areas, including most of its big cities, will miss a Dec. 31 deadline set by that law for meeting federal air-quality standards on ozone and carbon monoxide. Even as the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) moves to waive the deadline, the nation's concern about the air it breathes has not lessened, according to opinion polls. That public concern extends to a wide range of airborne pollutants, including acid rain, toxic chemical emissions and even indoor air hazards in homes and offices.

Despite the expressions of public support for cleaner air, Congress appears divided, unsure whether the people are willing to accept, or can afford, the economic consequences of air-quality standards that are stringent enough to fully protect their health and environment.

Since 1970, Congress has required automobile manufacturers to install catalytic converters to curb tailpipe emissions. But nearly 40 million Americans still live in cities and suburbs where carbon monoxide levels exceed the federal standard. Auto industry spokesmen say that control devices now eliminate 96 percent of the carbon monoxide emissions, and further progress may require drivers to use cleaner-burning fuels such as gasohol—a blend of petroleum with ethanol, which is derived from corn—or abandon their cars for commuter buses and trains in populous urban areas.