1. You have just become the head of your county health department and the EPA has informed you that your county has failed to meet the national ambient air quality standards for ozone, sulfur dioxide, and nitrogen dioxide. The county is home to 200,000 people and comprised of 10 sprawling suburbs. There are several large and aging coal-fired power plants and no public transportation system. What steps would you take to meet the air quality standards? How would you prioritize your steps?
2. Knowing that coal-fired power plants in the west are a significant contributor to acid precipitation, what action would you possibly take if the government wanted to relax pollution rules even when burning cleaner coal or installing "scrubbers" on emission towers was technically feasible? Discuss.