Examines the successes and failures of the Clean Air Act in order to lay a foundation for future energy policy.

Since the beginning of the Obama Administration, conservative politicians have railed against the President's "War on Coal." As evidence of this supposed siege, they point to a series of rules issued by the Environmental Protection Agency that aim to slash air pollution from the nation's power sector . Because coal produces far more pollution than any other major energy source, these rules are expected to further reduce its already shrinking share of the electricity market in favor of cleaner options like natural gas and solar power. But the EPA's policies are hardly the "unprecedented regulatory assault " that opponents make them out to be. Instead, they are merely the latest chapter in a multi-decade struggle to overcome a tragic flaw in our nation's most important environmental law. In 1970, Congress passed the Clean Air Act, which had the remarkably ambitious goal of eliminating essentially all air pollution that posed a threat to public health or welfare. But there was a problem: for some of the most common pollutants, Congress empowered the EPA to set emission limits only for newly constructed industrial facilities, most notably power plants. Existing plants, by contrast, would be largely exempt from direct federal regulation-a regulatory practice known as "grandfathering." What lawmakers didn't anticipate was that imposing costly requirements on new plants while giving existing ones a pass would simply encourage those old plants to stay in business much longer than originally planned. Since 1970, the core problems of U.S. environmental policy have flowed inexorably from the smokestacks of these coal-fired clunkers, which continue to pollute at far higher rates than their younger peers. In Struggling for Air, Richard L. Revesz and Jack Lienke chronicle the political compromises that gave rise to grandfathering, its deadly consequences, and the repeated attempts-by presidential administrations of both parties-to make things right.

The authorities and responsibilities of the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) derive primarily from a dozen major environmental statutes. This book provides a concise summary of one of those statutes, the Clean Air Act. It provides a brief history of federal involvement in air quality regulation and of the provisions added by legislation in 1970, 1977 and 1990. It also explains major authorities contained in the Act as well as key terms and references for more detailed information on the Act and its implementation.

Fundamentals of Air Pollution is an important and widely used textbook in the environmental science and engineering community. This thoroughly revised fifth edition of Fundamentals of Air Pollution has been updated throughout and remains the most complete text available, offering a stronger systems perspective and more coverage of international issues relating to air pollution. Sections on pollution control have been reorganized and updated to demonstrate the move from regulation and control approaches to green and sustainable engineering approaches. The fifth edition maintains a strong interdisciplinary approach to the study of air pollution, covering such topics as chemistry, physics, meteorology, engineering, toxicology, policy, and regulation. New material includes near-road air pollution, new risk assessment approaches, indoor air quality, the impact of biofuels and fuel additives, mercury emissions, forecasting techniques, and the most recent results from the National Air Toxics Assessment. - Stronger systems approach, emphasizing the impact of air pollution on ecosystems and human health - Risks, measures, models, and control of air pollution are discussed at scale – starting at the individual/niche level and expanding to planetary/global scale - Increased emphasis on international issues, including coverage of European initiatives and discussions of the impact of emerging economies like India and China - Updated references, standards, and methods throughout the book make this the most current air pollution text/reference on the market - All new end-of-chapter problems enhance its usefulness as a course text

"The United States Code is the official codification of the general and permanent laws of the United States of America. The Code was first published in 1926, and a new edition of the code has been published every six years since 1934. The 2012 edition of the Code incorporates laws enacted through the One Hundred Twelfth Congress, Second Session, the last of which was signed by the President on January 15, 2013. It does not include laws of the One Hundred Thirteenth Congress, First Session, enacted between January 2, 2013, the date it convened, and January 15, 2013. By statutory authority this edition may be cited "U.S.C. 2012 ed." As adopted in 1926, the Code established prima facie the general and permanent laws of the United States. The underlying statutes reprinted in the Code remained in effect and controlled over the Code in case of any discrepancy. In 1947, Congress began enacting individual titles of the Code into positive law. When a title is enacted into positive law, the underlying statutes are repealed and the title then becomes legal evidence of the law. Currently, 26 of the 51 titles in the Code have been so enacted. These are identified in the table of titles near the beginning of each volume. The Law Revision Counsel of the House of Representatives continues to prepare legislation pursuant to 2 U.S.C. 285b to enact the remainder of the Code, on a title-by-title basis, into positive law. The 2012 edition of the Code was prepared and published under the supervision of Ralph V. Seep, Law Revision Counsel. Grateful acknowledgment is made of the contributions by all who helped in this work, particularly the staffs of the Office of the Law Revision Counsel and the Government Printing Office"--Preface.

Editor Michael Burger brings together a comprehensive assessment of how one statutory provision - Section 115 of the Clean Air Act, "International Air Pollution" - provides the executive branch of the U.S. government with the authority, procedures, and mechanisms to work with the states and private sector to take national climate action. This collaborative effort reflects the most current thinking on Section 115 and how it relates to the Paris Agreement , the U.S. Supreme Court, and U.S. politics. The contributors dive deep into the key implementation issues EPA, the states and industry would need to address.Federal policymakers in a new presidential administration could use this book as a foundation for developing a national policy regulating greenhouse gas emissions. The book also provides detailed law and policy analyses for environmental lawyers and policy professionals, key to understanding the practice of climate law and policy in the U.S.

Winner of the Julia Ward Howe Prize “The gripping story of the most important environmental law case ever decided by the Supreme Court.” —Scott Turow “In the tradition of A Civil Action, this book makes a compelling story of the court fight that paved the way for regulating the emissions now overheating the planet. It offers a poignant reminder of how far we’ve come—and how far we still must go.” —Bill McKibben, author of The End of Nature On an unseasonably warm October morning, an idealistic young lawyer working on a shoestring budget for an environmental organization no one had heard of hand-delivered a petition to the Environmental Protection Agency, asking it to restrict greenhouse gas emissions from new cars. The Clean Air Act authorized the EPA to regulate “any air pollutant” thought to endanger public health. But could carbon dioxide really be considered a harmful pollutant? And even if the EPA had the authority to regulate emissions, could it be forced to do so? The Rule of Five tells the dramatic story of how Joe Mendelson and the band of lawyers who joined him carried his case all the way to the Supreme Court. It reveals how accident, infighting, luck, superb lawyering, politics, and the arcane practices of the Supreme Court collided to produce a legal miracle. The final ruling in Massachusetts v. EPA, by a razor-thin 5–4 margin brilliantly crafted by Justice John Paul Stevens, paved the way to important environmental safeguards which the Trump administration fought hard to unravel and many now seek to expand. “There’s no better book if you want to understand the past, present, and future of environmental litigation.” —Elizabeth Kolbert, author of The Sixth Extinction “A riveting story, beautifully told.” —Foreign Affairs “Wonderful...A master class in how the Supreme Court works and, more broadly, how major cases navigate through the legal system.” —Science