Air Quality: The Need to Replace Basic Technologies With Cleaner Alternatives

• Author: David M. Driesen
• Pages: 239-249

Chapter 16

Air Quality: The Need to Replace Basic

Technologies With Cleaner Alternatives

David M. Driesen

Since 2002, the United States has failed to make the fundamental

technological changes that are needed to meet the ambitious goals es-

tablished in the Rio Declaration.1Still, we continue to stumble toward

sustainability in many areas, as many indicators of air quality and

emissions have continued to show improvement after 2002.

This chapter begins by explaining sustainable development’s

meaning for air quality under Agenda 21 and the Rio Declaration.2It

then assesses progress since 2002 toward these commitments by look-

ing at emission trends, recent regulatory developments, and move-

ment toward sustainable technology. The chapter closes with recom-

mendations for improving U.S. conformity to the Rio Declaration and

Agenda 21.

Sustainable Development and Air Quality

The Rio Declaration, the statement of principles promulgated by

the U.N. Conference on Environment and Development in 1992,

states that “human beings . . . are entitled to a healthy and productive

life in harmony with nature.”3Because air pollution damages both hu-

man health and the environment, air quality implicates both environ-

mental and health concerns.4Tosupport this principle, Agenda 21, the

action plan to implement the Rio Declaration, establishes an objective

of eliminating “unacceptable or unreasonable” risks from air pollu-

tion “to the extent economically feasible.”5The Rio Declaration sug-

gests further that we must eliminate unreasonable risks not only for

this generation but for future generations as well.6In order to meet this

objective, the Rio Declaration states that countries “should reduce and

eliminate unsustainable patterns of production and consumption.”7

The elimination of unsustainable production and consumption pat-

terns requires integrated decisionmaking8that incorporates air quality

considerations into key economic decisionmaking processes, so that

239