ABSTRACT
In 1988, beaches in New York, New Jersey, and elsewhere on the Atlantic coast had to be closed because of pollution: among the evidence were hypodermic needles, syringes, blood bags, and other repulsive medical waste. As annual expenditure on pollution control continues to increase and as awareness of the range of environmental problems increases, it has become apparent that there will never be sufficient resources to deal with all of them. It is therefore important that policies should be kept under review, and consideration must be given to changes in the pattern of expenditure. The issue of equity has become increasingly more important and more visible in the area of environmental policy. Waste policy is explicitly moving toward the control of sources, and the mandated electric car is similarly a recognition that emission controls are insufficient.
