Clean Air Main Air Quality Air Toxics Clean Air Act Changes Clean Air & Smart Energy Solutions Coal Factsheets & Resources Get Involved! Power Plants & Air Pollution     Mercury Environmental news, green living tips, and ways to take action: Subscribe to the Sierra Club Insider!

The Benefits Are Clear The Environmental Protection Agency is proposing stricter air quality standards (recently upheld by the Supreme Court) to protect Americans from the health threat posed by air pollution. For just pennies a day, the EPA's recommended reductions in soot and smog will prevent an estimated 20,000 respiratory-related deaths and reduce serious respiratory problems in children by 250,000 cases a year. The EPA's proposals to strengthen clean air protections will cost 10 to 12 cents per person a day, just $31 to $41 per person a year. The new protections will save between $51 billion to $112 billion each year in medical costs, fewer sick days and lost productivity. The benefits of the Clean Air Act, the landmark environmental program enacted in 1970, have far outweighed its costs. According to the EPA, for every dollar spent on the Clean Air Act from 1970 to 1990, we received a $20 return on the investment. In fact, the EPA estimates Americans have realized benefits 70 times greater than the costs of implementing the program. In 1990 alone, tailpipe and smokestack controls saved an estimated 79,000 lives and resulted in an estimated 15 million fewer respiratory illnesses, including: 13 million cases of hypertension 18,000 heart attacks 10,000 strokes 146,000 cases of respiratory symptoms Historically, polluters have overstated the costs of cleaning the air. The Clean Air Act works at an economic cost much lower than industry had predicted. In the late 1980s, industry leaders complained that reductions in sulfur dioxide emissions, which cause acid rain, would cost $1,500 a ton. The cost is now actually less than $100. The industry estimate was 10-15 times higher than the actual cost. The lead business lobby fighting the Clean Air Act Amendments of 1990 claimed that those amendments would cost industry between $51 billion to $91 billion a year. Compliance costs are now estimated by the EPA to be just $25 billion annually, half to one fourth of what industry claimed. The fact is we cannot afford to stop the progress we have made cleaning America's air. The cost in lives lost and risks to our children's health is too high. Americans must have stricter air quality standards to protect our families and our future. Up to Top HOME | Email Signup | About Us | Contact Us | Terms of Use | © 2008 Sierra Club