“Somewhere along these last decades global warming has become not just a potentially significant problem—now it’s showing up in the real world. Glaciers all over the world are melting. Within 15 years there will be no snows of Kilimanjaro. . . . . The same thing is happening in our own Glacier National Park. Within 15 years, it will be the ‘park formerly known as Glacier.’”—Former Vice President Al Gore from “Riders on the Blue Marble Must Confront Climate Change” in Cleaning America’s Air

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“Before we begin unilaterally passing costly restrictions on the emissions of a gas [carbon dioxide] not yet considered a pollutant . . . we ought to have accurate scientific information about the sources of climate change and the extent to which man’s activities are contributing. At the very least, I would suggest than an objective observer would say there is vigorous scientific debate on the issue of climate change.”—Bill Baxter, Tennessee Valley Authority board of directors, from “It’s a Question of Balance: Moving Forward on Clean Air” in Cleaning America’s Air

These views, presented in the new book Cleaning America’s Air: Progress and Challenges, reflect the sharp debate on the contribution of human-generated carbon dioxide (CO2) to global warming. They also indicate clearly that concern over America’s air quality continues—and will likely haunt future generations.

The Clean Air Act, the regulatory hammer for dealing with air pollution in the United States, was passed unanimously by the U.S. Congress in 1970. The act was—and remains—the most comprehensive environmental legislation ever enacted, and it effectively launched the modern environmental movement. In the decades since its passage, guided by the act’s provisions and amendments, America has achieved significant strides in clearing the nation’s air. According to the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, “Between 1970 and 2000, [US] gross domestic product increased 158 percent, energy consumption increased 45 percent, vehicle miles traveled increased 143 percent, and U.S. population increased 36 percent. At the same time, total emissions of the six principal air pollutants decreased 29 percent.”

For Americans concerned about air quality—and that should include all of us—Cleaning America’s Air presents a brief but broad examination of the Clean Air Act of 1970, including a history of the act and the lethal legacy of pollution it addressed. The book’s contributors constitute a group of eight renowned policymakers, environmental regulators, and scientists, all deeply involved in environmental issues for decades. Their discussions provide a rich framework for grappling with the hard decisions that policymakers and citizens will face in the future.

In an essay that articulates the core message of his new film and companion book, An Inconvenient Truth, Al Gore advances a compelling case for reducing greenhouse gas emissions. Former Republican Senator Howard Baker reflects on his remarkable collaboration with Democratic Senator Ed Muskie in drafting the act. Scientist Paul Gilman presents the latest scientific data on air pollution’s effects on the human body. Dale Ditmanson and Jim Renfro of Great Smoky Mountains National Park explore the devastating effects of air pollution on the country’s most-visited national park.

There’s little doubt that Americans are breathing cleaner air today than in 1970. But, as Milton Russell, former EPA assistant administrator and contributor to Cleaning America’s Air, indicates, we’re not quite there yet: “Now there are new challenges facing those charged with providing this nation with ‘the safest, healthiest, most ecologically secure environment that the American people are willing to pay for’,” Russell writes. “And there is work enough for those who would follow.”

Cleaning America’s Air is published by the Howard H. Baker Jr. Center for Public Policy in cooperation with the Joint Institute for Energy and Environment and the Energy, Environment and Resource Center at the University of Tennessee. —David Brill

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