Clear Skies would protect public health and the environment by
improving air quality, decreasing exposure to fine particles and
ozone, and reducing deposition of sulfur, nitrogen, and mercury.
In 2010, early reductions in fine particle and ozone levels under
Clear Skies would result in 7,800 fewer premature deaths and $55 billion
in annual health and visibility benefits nationwide each year.
Under Clear Skies, each year, by 2020, Americans would experience
approximately:
- 14,100 fewer premature deaths;
- An alternative estimate projects 8,400 fewer premature deaths.
- 8,800 fewer cases of chronic bronchitis;
- 30,000 fewer hospitalizations/emergency room visits for cardiovascular
and respiratory symptoms; and
- 12.5 million fewer days with respiratory illnesses and symptoms,
including work loss days, restricted activity days, and school
days.
The monetized benefits of Clear Skies would
total approximately $113 billion annually by 2020, substantially
outweighing the annual costs of $6.3 billion. This includes:
- $110 billion dollars in health benefits;
- An alternative estimate projects annual health benefits
of $21 billion.1
- $3 billion in benefits from improving visibility at select
National Parks and Wilderness Areas.
This does not include the many additional benefits that cannot
currently be quantified but are expected to be significant, including
the health benefits associated with reduced exposure to mercury
and ecological benefits associated with reductions in acid rain
and coastal eutrophication.
Clear Skies would help states meet the National Ambient Air Quality
Standards (NAAQS). By 2020, based on initial modeling,
Clear Skies is expected to:
- bring 35 additional eastern counties, home to approximately
12 million people, into attainment with the new fine particle
standard (beyond what is expected from existing programs in 2020).
- bring 3 additional counties, home to approximately 6 million
people, into attainment with the new ozone standard (beyond what
is expected from existing programs in 2020).2
- The counties remaining out of attainment are expected to move
closer to attainment, providing health benefits to the people
who live there.
- Under Clear Skies and existing programs, most counties would meet the
fine particle and ozone standard by 2020.
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By 2020, Clear Skies, along with implementation of existing programs,
would achieve many environmental improvements. Compared with existing
conditions:
- Nitrogen deposition (one component of acid deposition) would
be reduced over much of the Eastern U.S., including sensitive
coastal areas, by up to 35% across most of the country with larger
reductions in many areas.;
- Fine particle concentrations in large portions of the East and
Midwest would be reduced by up to 25%;
- In a large portion of the East and Midwest, visibility would
be improved by 2-3 deciviews from current levels (a one deciview
improvement is a perceptible change).
- Sulfur deposition (one component of acid deposition) would be
reduced over much of the Eastern U.S., including sensitive areas,
by 30-60%;
- Many areas would see large decreases in mercury deposition of
15-60%, including the mid-Atlantic, many parts of the Southeast
and Northeast, and southeastern Michigan; and
- Chronic acidity -- the most serious form of acidification --
would be eliminated in the Adirondacks and virtually eliminated
in other Northeastern lakes. The long-term decline in stream condition
in the Southeast would be slowed.
Detailed Benefits Information
Section
B of the 2003 Clear Skies Technical Package (PDF 4.6MB)
This document features an in-depth analysis of the expected benefits
of Clear Skies. It includes maps and information on the improvements
in human health and the environment that would be achieved with
Clear Skies. This document also includes monetized benefits.
Technical Addendum: Methodologies
for the Benefit Analysis of the Clear Skies Act of 2003
(PDF 1.7MB)
This document details the methods used to analyze the benefits of
the Clear Skies Act of 2003 and presents the results of the analysis.
It quantifies the health and visibility improvements that would
be achieved by Clear Skies and projects the monetary value of those
improvements.
Overview of the
Human Health and Environmental Effects of Power Generation: Focus
on Sulfur Dioxide (SO2), Nitrogen Oxides (NOx) and Mercury (Hg)
(PDF 1.1MB)
Clear Skies is intended to reduce the health and environmental impacts
of power generation. This document summarizes the effects of power
generation, particularly those associated with sulfur dioxide (SO2),
nitrogen oxides (NOx), and mercury. This document does not address
the specific benefits of Clear Skies.
Related Environmental and Health Information
Air Quality Trends
Mercury
National Ambient Air Quality
Standards
Acid
Rain
Nitrogen
(PDF 4.18MB)
Emissions Cap-and-Trade
and Hot Spots (PDF 17.3MB)
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1The two sets of
estimates reflect alternative assumptions and analytical approaches
regarding quantifying and evaluating the effects of airborne particles
on public health. All estimates assume that particles are causally
associated with health effects, and that all components have the
same toxicity. Linear concentration-response relationships between
PM and all health effects are assumed, indicating that reductions
in PM have the same impact on health outcomes regardless of the
absolute level of PM in a given location. The base estimate relies
on estimates of the potential cumulative effect of long-term exposure
to particles, while the alternative estimate presumes that PM effects
are limited to those that accumulate over much shorter time periods.
All such estimates are subject to a number of assumptions and uncertainties.
It is of note that, based on recent preliminary findings from the
Health Effects Institute, the magnitude of mortality from short-term
exposure (alternative estimates) and hospital/ER admissions estimates
(both estimates) may be overstated. The alternatives also use different
approaches to value health effects damages. The key assumptions,
uncertainties, and valuation methodologies underlying the approaches
used to produce these results are detailed in Technical Addendum:
Methodologies for Benefit Analysis of the Clear Skies Initiative,
2003.
2 This analysis shows
the counties that would come into attainment due to Clear Skies
alone in 2020. Additional federal and state programs are designed
to bring all counties into attainment by 2017 at the latest. Clear
Skies is not expected to bring additional counties into attainment
for 2020 in the West. Therefore, the Western region is not presented
here.
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