Out of Sight: The Science and Economics of Visibility Impairment
Published: August 2000File Size: 9,121 KB
Visibility impairment is a basic form of air pollution, one that people can see and recognize without special instruments. It is also one of the scientifically best-understood air quality-related impacts of fossil fuel combustion. Despite this common knowledge, the full costs of impaired visibility are not well understood by policymakers and the public. Some people are not aware that visibility is impaired at all, incorrectly believing that the milky-white haze that blankets parts of the country is somehow a natural phenomenon associated with humidity, especially on hot summer days. In fact, visibility impairment is a major problem in the United States, with both aesthetic and economic consequences.
A variety of sources contribute to the air pollutant emissions that lead to visibility impairment, including power plants, motor vehicles, wildfires and industrial processes like smelting. The largest source in many areas is power plant emissions. This report is meant to give the educated reader a basic understanding of the nature and science of visibility impairment and to provide an overview of the economic costs of visibility due to sources such as power plants. The report is not, however, meant to go into great depth in every area, although there is a large reference section that one can refer to in order to get more detail on particular topic discussed here.
The report begins with a general overview of the basics behind the nature and science of visibility. Included in this section is a discussion on what causes visibility impairment, how visibility is impaired, how humans perceive visibility impairment, and how it is measured. The second section presents both historical trends on national visibility and examples of visibility degradation at specific places. The legislative history in specific regard to visibility regulation is then presented, along with a discussion on other air pollution policies that have had an impact on visual air quality. The economics of visibility follows, and is presented in two separate sections. The first discusses the economics of visibility in terms of its impact on the direct consumption of visibility as a resource, or, in other words, how visibility impacts visitation and tourism behavior. The next section presents the economics of visibility in terms of non-direct consumption, or how people value improvements in visibility in areas where they may or may not be experiencing it directly. Finally, an applied example of the valuation of visibility improvements is provided, specifically calculating the visibility benefits associated with reductions in power plant emissions.
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