Geoscience Reference
In-Depth Information
tat, and food production (IPCC 2007, 2012). The scientific and technical chal-
lenges associated with the goal of taking action on climate change and improv-
ing air quality are broad and complex. Finding efficient and effective approaches
to mitigate and adapt to climate change and improve air quality requires systems
thinking and research in diverse disciplines, including environmental engineer-
ing, atmospheric sciences, biology, ecology, engineering, economics, sociology,
and public health. EPA has been involved in climate-change research and policy
development for more than 2 decades (see Box 2-1). Beyond its statutory as-
signments, EPA undertakes broader efforts to address climate change and im-
prove air quality through various approaches that include public education, con-
sumer information, technical exchanges, grants, and voluntary certification
programs.
Regulatory Drivers for Air Quality and Climate Change
EPA's regulatory drivers in the climate-change and air-quality arena have
helped to marshal resources in and outside the agency, which has yielded sub-
stantial advances in scientific understanding and technology. For example, des-
ignation of particulate matter and photochemical oxidants as criteria pollutants
under the Clean Air Act has led to thousands of epidemiology and toxicology
studies that have improved the understanding of associated health effects and
provided the scientific basis of standard-setting and regulatory efforts. In con-
trast, one challenge posed by regulatory drivers is the blind spots that they create
for issues deemed outside the scope of regulatory authority or issues that have
lower priority because of later deadlines or milder penalties for noncompliance.
For example, EPA recognizes both indoor pollution and outdoor air pollution as
posing important health risks, but the agency places relatively low priority on
indoor air-quality research due to lack of a regulatory mandate. The structure of
the Clean Air Act has also encouraged heavier emphasis on criteria pollutants
over other hazardous air pollutants, human health over ecosystem effects, and
industrial sources over agricultural sources of pollutants. EPA faces a challenge
in trying to balance its own research portfolio between issues that arise out of its
regulatory mandate and issues that warrant attention from the perspective of
human health and welfare but for which there is no legislative mandate. Ap-
proaches for how EPA can support and promote science and engineering in the
face of these challenges are discussed in Chapters 4 and 5.
Continued research efforts and leadership are important for a strong un-
derstanding of the health effects and fate and transport of conventional air pol-
lutants, including both hazardous air pollutants and criteria pollutants, and un-
derstanding the synergistic effects of air-pollutant mixtures. EPA would benefit
from advancing the understanding of sources, transformations, and transport of
pollutants, including improved quantification and forecasting of international
contributions to US air-quality challenges (for example, mercury deposition and
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