Environmental Policy and Public Health Air Pollution, Global Climate Change, and Wilderness

by Rom, William N.

• ISBN13: 9780470593431
• ISBN10: 0470593431
• Edition: 1st
• Format: Paperback
• Copyright: 2011-11-01
• Publisher: Jossey-Bass

Summary

This important resource provides an overview of the major environmental policy issues, both historic and topical, and explains how science plays a role in various forms of policy response. It scrutinizes the sources of pollution and threats to environmental integrity, the consequences of pollution on the environment and health and explains the legal basis for environmental action. The book explains science-based environmental regulation versus cost-benefit scenarios and advocacy by regulated industry and public health organizations. This resource is designed for graduate students in public health and environmental studies.

Author Biography

William N. Rom MD, MPH, is Sol and Judith Bergstein Professor of Medicine, Departments of Medicine (Pulmonary Disease) and Environmental Medicine and director of the Division of Pulmonary, Critical Care, and Sleep Medicine, director of the NYU Lung Cancer Biomarker Center, and director of the Chest Service and Environmental Lung Disease Laboratory at Bellevue Hospital Center. He recently was chair of the American Thoracic Society Environmental Health Policy Committee and on staff for Senator Hillary Rodham Clinton for the first global warming debate in fall 2003.

Table of Contents

Figures and Table ix

Foreword xv

Preface xix

The Author xxi

The Contributors xxiii

Chapter 1: The Clean Air Act and the National Environmental Policy Act 1

The Clean Air Act 2

National Ambient Air Quality Standards 7

State Implementation Plans 9

Hazardous Air Pollutants 11

New Source Performance Standards 12

Prevention of Significant Deterioration 12

Clean Air Interstate Quality Rule 13

The National Environmental Policy Act 13

Chapter 2: Particulate Matter 17

Characteristics and Deposition 18

Health Effects 21

Cardiovascular Disease and Particulate Matter 32

Particulate Matter and Public Policy 37

Chapter 3: Ozone 41

Health Effects 42

Nitrogen Oxides 54

Chapter 4: Sulfur Dioxide and Acid Rain 63

SO2 Health Effects 65

Health Policy: National Ambient Air Quality Standards 69

Acid Rain 69

Environmental Effects of Acid Rain and Deposition 73

Acid Rain and Environmental Policy 75

Chapter 5: Environmental Tobacco Smoke 81

The History of Smoking and Disease 82

Tobacco Smoke and Disease 84

Health Effects of Passive Smoking 89

Lung Cancer Epidemiology 91

Carcinogens in Cigarette Smoke 92

Smoking Cessation 94

Policy Controls on Tobacco and Cigarette Smoking 95

Global Smoking Today 97

Chapter 6: Children’s Environmental Health: Mercury and Lead 101
Leonardo Trasande

The Unique Vulnerability of Children 102

Mercury as a Case Study 104

Lead as a Case Study 106

Outdoor Air Pollution as a Case Study 107

The National Children’s Study 108

Regulatory Policy and Children 109

Chapter 7: The Role of Community Advocacy Groups in Environmental Protection: Example of September 11, 2001 113
Catherine McVay Hughes, Kimberly Flynn, Craig Hall, Joan Reibman

The Disaster 116

Chapter 8: The Medical Response to an Environmental Disaster: Lessons from the World Trade Center Attacks 137
Caralee Caplan-Shaw, Angeliki Kazeros, Sam Parsia, Joan Reibman

Immediate Response to Environmental Exposure 139

Analysis of World Trade Center Dust 140

Role of the Medical Community in Identifying Adverse Health Effects in Diverse Populations 143

Local Residents, Workers, and Children 148

WTC Environmental Health Center 151

The WTC Health Registry 153

Lessons Learned 155

Chapter 9: Chlorofluorocarbons and the Development of the Ozone Hole 159

Chlorofluorocarbons 160

Ozone Layer 160

Field Measurements of Atmospheric Trace Species 167

Ozone Depletion and UV-B Radiation 170

Policy and the Montreal Protocol 172

Ozone Depletion and Climate Change 174

Medihaler Impediments to Controlling Ozone Depletion 175

Chapter 10: Global Warming Science and Consequences 179

Global Warming Basic Science: Greenhouse Gases 181

Environmental Consequences of Global Warming and Climate Change 186

Human Health Effects 197

Global Warming and the International Community 203

Chapter 11: National Green Energy Plan 205

Energy Efficiency 206

Oil 208

Natural Gas 216

Coal 218

Biofuels 223

Nuclear 227

Wind 230

Geothermal Energy and Hydropower 232

Biomass and Hut Lung 234

Solar 236

Chapter 12: Climate Change Policy Options 241

International Efforts to Prevent Climate Change 244

State, City, and Private Actions on Global Warming 247

U.S. Judiciary Branch and Climate Change 250

U.S. Executive Branch and Climate Change 252

Congress: The Climate Stewardship Act of 2003 Through the Climate Security Acts of 2008 and 2009 254

Economic Factors Surrounding Global Warming and Potential Solutions 260

Prospects for Climate Change Legislation Going Forward 262

Chapter 13: Environmental Policy and the Land: Wilderness Preservation 267
William N. Rom, Kim Elliman

The History of Wilderness Protection 269

The History of Wilderness Protection Evolving from New York State’s Leadership 275

Debates over Wilderness 283

Problems with Implementation of the Wilderness Act 287

Executive Orders for Wilderness Protection 289

Current Wilderness Legislation 292

The Land and Water Conservation Fund and the Forest Legacy Program 294

National Wild and Scenic Rivers Act 294

The Endangered Species Act 295

Chapter 14: Environmental Policy and Advocacy Groups: The Wilderness Society: A Case Study 299
William H. Meadows

Federal Public Lands and Wilderness 300

Why Wilderness? 301

Political Framework 302

The Wilderness Society and Public Policy 304

Wilderness Future 313

Chapter 15: Alaska: America’s Wilderness Frontier: A Case Study 319

Arctic National Wildlife Refuge 320

Alaska National Interest Lands Conservation Act: National Parks, Wildlife Refuges, and Wilderness 321

Oil Versus Wilderness on the ANWR 329

Chapter 16: The Clean Water Act and Water Ecosystems 337

The Clean Water Act 338

Safe Drinking Water Act 344

Water Ecosystems and Environmental and Public Health 348

Chapter 17: Toxic Chemicals in the Environment: Government Regulations and Public Health 355

Toxic Substances Control Act 356

Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation, and Liability Act (Superfund) 360

Notes 369

Index 407ii