Brian Tokar

The pollution credit program that was passed in 1990 as an amendment to the Clean Air Act has done nothing to reduce pollution except to lower companies’ costs in complying with the reduced emissions levels, contends Brian Tokar in the following viewpoint. Pollution credits simply give companies the “right” to pollute, he argues. Technological improvements, not pollution credits, are responsible for the declining emissions levels, Tokar maintains. Tokar is the author of Earth for Sale and The Green Alternative. He teaches at the Institute for Social Equality and at Goddard College, both in Plainfield, Vermont.

As you read, consider the following questions:

1. How much were pollution credits originally expected to sell for, and what did they actually sell for in 1993, according to the author?
2. How do some companies reduce their pollution emissions without...