The original U.S. Clean Air Act (1970)

The original U.S. Clean Air Act (1970) established federal and state regulations for reducing six “criteria air pollutants:” 1) Nitrous oxides (NOx); 2) Sulfur dioxide (SO2); 3) Carbon monoxide (CO); 4) Ozone (O3); 5) Particulate matter (PM); and 6) Lead (Pb). Describe the primary anthropogenic sources for each of these pollutants and also describe the particular environmental and public health concerns associated with each of these pollutants. Given that there are many other kinds of air pollutants, why did the United States government choose these specific pollutants for aggressive regulatory action? Why does the “Kuznet’s curve” relationship imply that most, if not all, countries will adopt and, even more importantly, enforce similar types of air quality regulations as originally established by the U.S. Clean Air Act? In other words, why does the Kuznet’s curve make it fairly predictable that a developing country like China would eventually start adopting (and enforcing) aggressive air quality regulations, as it has indeed started doing in recent years?