Evaluating Vehicle Emissions Inspection and Maintenance Programs
Evaluating Vehicle Emissions Inspection and Maintenance Programs

Author: National Research Council

Publisher: National Academies Press

Published: 2001-12-16

Total Pages: 261

ISBN-13: 0309074460

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Emissions inspection and maintenance (I/M) programs subject vehicles to periodic inspections of their emission control systems. Despite widespread use of these programs in air-quality management, policy makers and the public have found a number of problems associated with them. Prominent among these issues is the perception that emissions benefits and other impacts of I/M programs have not been evaluated adequately. Evaluating Vehicle Emissions Inspection and Maintenance Programs assesses the effectiveness of these programs for reducing mobile source emissions. In this report, the committee evaluates the differences in the characteristics of motor vehicle emissions in areas with and without I/M programs, identifies criteria and methodologies for their evaluation, and recommends improvements to the programs. Most useful of all, this book will help summarize the observed benefits of these programs and how they can be redirected in the future to increase their effectiveness.

Smog Check
Smog Check

Author: Douglas S. Eisinger

Publisher: Routledge

Published: 2012-08-21

Total Pages: 254

ISBN-13: 1136527176

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When federal and state governments battle over environmental regulations, whose approach should prevail? Shortly after passage of the 1990 Clean Air Act Amendments, a controversial U.S. EPA mandate led to an intense conflict between federal regulators and California politicians. The disagreement pitted EPA's required overhaul of auto inspections against California's desire to self-govern its test program - popularly called 'Smog Check.' The conflict nearly upended the Clean Air Act, and triggered dramatic policy shifts throughout the United States. Smog Check presents these struggles in first-hand detail. Eisinger, an EPA official at the time of this conflict, probes deeply into the issues and explores broader questions including: when does it become imperative for agencies to bargain with one another, when should regulatory flexibility and performance-based regulations be favored over command and control approaches, and what should be done when decisions need to be made in the face of scientific disagreement? The book also includes insightful commentary from other EPA participants in the Smog Check controversy. Smog Check's lessons will be relevant to climate change, air pollution control, and numerous other policy challenges.

Managing Carbon Monoxide Pollution in Meteorological and Topographical Problem Areas
Managing Carbon Monoxide Pollution in Meteorological and Topographical Problem Areas

Author: National Research Council

Publisher: National Academies Press

Published: 2003-08-01

Total Pages: 218

ISBN-13: 9780309089234

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The regulation of carbon monoxide has been one of the great success stories in air pollution control. While more than 90 percent of the locations with carbon monoxide monitors were in violation in 1971, today the number of monitors showing violations has fallen to only a few, on a small number of days and mainly in areas with unique meteorological and topographical conditions.

Alternative Fuels and the Environment
Alternative Fuels and the Environment

Author: Frances S. Sterrett

Publisher: CRC Press

Published: 1994-10-12

Total Pages: 290

ISBN-13: 9780873719780

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Alternative Fuels and the Environment evaluates the timely issue of renewable, alternative resources to fossil fuels and nuclear energy, such as solar, anemoelectric, hydroelectric, and geothermal energy. These alternative power sources not only have the advantage of being renewable, but they are also economically attractive and have minimal adverse environmental impact, such as the waste emission of SO2, NOx, or greenhouse gases. This book analyzes the harnessing of the sun's energy by photochemical reactions, artificial photosynthesis, and photovoltaic electric power generation. It further discusses how hydrogen as fuel is produced by solar photoelectrolysis of water and how wind turbines generate electricity, while ocean thermal energy produces electric power and fresh water. Geothermal energy and hydroelectric power are also renewable sources of electricity. Biofuels and biomass are useful as energy sources, and surplus land is usable for woody, herbaceous, high-yield energy crop production. The book also investigates reformulated gasoline with oxygenated fuels, such as ethanol or methanol.