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Nitric oxide (NO) and nitrogen dioxide (NO2)
emissions, commonly referred to as NOx, provide unique
challenges to policy makers
attempting to improve the nation's air quality. NOx is the only one of the six
criteria pollutants targeted by the Clean Air Act of 1970 to have increased since the
Act's inception.
This is due in part to the many political, cultural and technical
difficulties in regulating its anthropogenic
sources. NOx control policy in the
United States involves a continual search for new and innovative
ways to address these
problems. This webpage provides an overview of NOx control policy, both in
theory and in
practice. The first sections examine the problems associated with NOx emissions and
the
technology options that exist. Subsequent pages evaluate the theoretical policy
options and provide
empirical examples of US, state, and local NOx control practices.
Finally, this webpage compares
theoretical NOx policy with actual practices and
makes some conclusions about the effectiveness of, and
reasons for, particular policies.
We hope this site will provide the user with an educational and
informative overview of NOx control policy and practices. Please don't hesitate to
e-mail us with any of your questions or comments.
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