12. Air Quality Law: Margins of Safety

Environmental Politics and Law (EVST 255) The lecture describes the Clean Air Act and the way the federal government measures air quality as well as improvements in air quality. Professor Wargo reviews challenges in regulating air quality, reasons for lack of adequate enforcement, and approaches to setting ambient air quality standards. The lecture focuses predominantly on vehicle emissions, and the difficulty that regulators face when trying to decrease particulate matter expelled by cars. The public health impacts of poor air quality, particularly in urban areas, are discussed as well. 00:00 - Chapter 1. Challenges to Monitoring and Enforcing the Clean Air Act 12:56 - Chapter 2. Hazardous Air Pollutant Provisions and Vehicle Emissions 31:23 - Chapter 3. Other Sources of Small-Diameter Particles 37:04 - Chapter 4. Widespread Asthma Complete course materials are available at the Open Yale Courses website: This course was recorded in