Pollution Markets in a Green Country Town

The brave new world of environmental economics―complete with pollution markets, emission brokers, and commodity auctions of emission allowances―has been developing in the U.S. for several decades. This book traces the evolution of such environmental management techniques in industrial Philadelphia. Initially as a greene country towne, the city's development led to significant pollution concerns, including rivers filled with sewage, typhoid deaths, and smoky plumes from coal combustion. Technological pollution controls improved conditions, but blunt regulatory tools eventually evolved into more refined economic approaches.

This book describes that transition and the economic mechanisms that have emerged in recent decades, as well as prospective markets for ozone precursors, greenhouse gas emissions, and environmental risk (potentially offering what one pundit labeled cancer futures). In doing so, it presents a comprehensive overview―from old to new―of urban environmental management.