Backyard barbecues may seem like a small and innocuous source of pollution. Starter fluid with a lower VOC content wouldn't light a barbecue, they said. As Southern California continues to emerge from its worst economic downturn since the Great Depression of the 1930s, air quality officials are committed to become more sensitive than ever to the cost of regulations. AQMD conducts rigorous socioeconomic impact studies for each rule it proposes, and hosts numerous public meetings seeking input from businesses that will be affected by anti-pollution measures. At the same time, AQMD is required by the federal and California Clean Air Acts to achieve healthful air by 2010.
Market incentives One promising strategy is to harness market forces.
If a firm exceeds its annual goal for pollution reduction, it will earn emission credits that can be sold on the open market. Some industries can reduce emissions more easily and at a lower cost than others. The trading market would enable businesses to develop credits through such diverse options as scrapping older polluting cars and lawn mowers, converting equipment and vehicles to clean fuels, or selling clean consumer products, such as pollution free paints. AQMD would use the Clean Air Trust Fund to pay for clean up projects, including public transit, conversion of vehicles and equipment to cleaner fuels and others that would reduce pollution in the Southern California region. In conjunction with the new credit market and clean air fund, AQMD will develop regulations to further reduce pollution from specific industries.