It would be ideal, of course, if the emission of all pollutants could be reduced to zero, and the technology may indeed be available for doing so. However, the costs of doing this may be prohibitive in some cases. A balance must be found, therefore, between the amount of pollution control that society is both willing and able to pay for and the amount of environmental damage resulting from pollution. Since there are no straightforward measures of the costs associated with environmental damage, the approach to finding a realistic balance involves a great deal of argument. Unquestionably, the regulation of emissions has brought about a significant improvement.
