The Nineties in America - Salem Press (2009)

1990’s, when the catalyst was changed. While the
new catalytic converters are quite effective, the en-
gine must be warm for them to work, and this does
not occur with many short trips.
Surface-level ozone produced primarily by motor
vehicles was a troubling issue for many cities during
the decade, most notably the Los Angles basin and
Houston. By 2000, about one-half of all Americans
lived in areas that had severe smog problems during
the summer months. Smog is a secondary pollutant
formed from hydrocarbon fumes and nitrogen diox-
ide emitted from motor vehicles. People with respi-
ratory problems are particularly sensitive to smog, as
are pregnant women who may have a child with birth
defects if they are extensively exposed to smog dur-
ing pregnancy.
Other pollutants such as carbon monoxide and
particulate matter such as lead are often the product
of vehicle emissions, although they are also the prod-
uct of burning hydrocarbons in general. A debate
developed in the 1990’s concerning the impact of
various sizes of particles. In 1997, the Environmental
Protection Agency changed its regulations to em-
phasize particles smaller than 2.5 micrometers in di-
ameter. Research had shown that smaller particles
penetrated deeper into people’s lungs, causing
more severe health problems.
Industry often opposed further efforts at regulat-
ing air quality during the decade, citing cost factors.
Reducing SO 2 emissions from coal-fired plants, for
example, did have the potential for increasing en-
ergy costs.

Impact Air pollution continued to be a source of
environmental damage during the 1990’s. Various
pollutants had a negative impact on the health of
Americans, causing significantly more deaths per
year than traffic accidents. In addition, air pollution
has an adverse economic impact through harm to
crop production, damage to buildings and monu-
ments, and water-quality degradation, and helps to
cause global warming. Regulating motor vehicle
emissions, particularly from sport utility vehicles,
was a major problem, unresolved at the end of the
decade. In spite of improvements during the de-
cade, air pollution would continue to be a problem
for the United States.

Further Reading
Blatt, Harvey.America’s Environmental Report Card.
Cambridge, Mass.: MIT Press, 2005. Evaluates the

progress in dealing with air pollution and other

environmental issues during the decade.

Environmental Protection Agency.Latest Findings on

National Air Quality, 2000. http://www.epa.gov/

oar/aqtrnd00/Index.html. Useful source of data

concerning air pollution.

Rosenbaum, Walter A.Environmental Politics and Pol-

icy. 7th ed. Washington, D.C.: CQ Press, 2008.

Good coverage of the politics of air pollution and

other environmental issues.

John M. Theilmann

See also Clean Air Act of 1990;Earth in the Balance;

Global warming debate; Science and technology;

Water pollution.

 Airline industry

Definition Organizations providing air transport

services

Four major accidents, airline bankruptcies, international

airline alliances, and Southwest Airlines’ success define the

airline industr y in Canada and the United States in the

1990’s.

Along with creating the initial model for airline

globalization, the 1990’s brought back some recur-

sive problems for airlines: high fuel prices and oper-

ating costs, cumbersome taxes, and tragic accidents.

Three of the most reported accidents in the United

States were 1996’s ValuJet Flight 592 crash that re-

sulted in the loss of 110 people, 1996’s TWA Flight

800 disaster that claimed 230 lives, and 1999’s

EgyptAir Flight 990 crash that killed 217 people.

Though there were no fatalities that could be attrib-

uted to any crashes of Canadian commercial aircraft

in the 1990’s, one tragedy in 1998 occurred involving

Swissair Flight 111, which crashed off the coast of Nova

Scotia, killing 229 people, including 136 Americans.

Though the problems and tragedies above are of

great interest, this decade in the airline industry is

marked uniquely by a rash of bankruptcies, an in-

crease in international code-sharing agreements,

1995’s “open skies” agreement between the United

States and Canada, international airline alliances,

and Southwest Airlines’ success.

Bankruptcy and Code Sharing The 1990’s began

with five U.S. airlines filing for bankruptcy. The di-

The Nineties in America Airline industry
21