Book Description

Environmental Regulations and Standard Setting is a component of Encyclopedia of Environmental and Ecological Sciences, Engineering and Technology Resources in the global Encyclopedia of Life Support Systems (EOLSS), which is an integrated compendium of twenty one Encyclopedias. Environmental regulation and the setting of environmental standards is concerned with command-and-control standards and regulations to control most of the pollutants generated by anthropogenic activities impacting on the three main environmental compartments: air, water, and land (including waste). Methods of regulatory control are described along with all major associated issues, including criteria for standard setting, enforcement of standards, public participation, and the deficiencies of conventional standards and regulations in securing the sustainability of earth's natural environmental capital. The Theme is organized into four different topics which represent the main scientific areas of the theme: The first topic, the need for environmental regulation and standards, problems encountered in setting standards, and the major deficiencies of environmental standards vis-à-vis environmental sustainability are discussed in this topic. The succeeding two topics are Environmental Quality Standards; Source-Oriented Control of Pollution; The fourth topic, the two prevailing types of standards are discussed — ecologically-based standards whose main purpose is to limit the degradation caused to ecosystems by anthropogenic activities, and health-based standards which focus on minimizing the adverse environmental impacts on human health. This volume is aimed at the following five major target audiences: University and College Students, Educators, Professional Practitioners, Research Personnel and Policy Analysts, Managers, and Decision Makers and NGOs.