<div>; How we view air, especially clean air, has meaningful normative and <span>practical implications. Today, it is commonly recognized as an exhaustible </span><span>natural resource. But air was not always thought of as something to be </span><span>conserved, developed, and used. This Article is the first to explore and </span><span>interrogate that view. </span><span>The shift to seeing air as a resource started in the first part of the </span><span>twentieth century. Previously, air was characterized by its limitless supply </span><span>of oxygen: a pure public good. Over time, the quality of that good changed, </span><span>and a precious resource emerged. That resource—especially its chemical </span><span>and physical characteristics—inspired a novel management concept and </span><span>new approach to air pollution control (today considered the “pinnacle” </span><span>of air pollution policy). </span><span>Treating air as a resource offered a new way to imagine our </span><span>relationship to air. Indeed, this Article argues that the conceptual origins </span><span>of the modern Clean Air Act (particularly the air quality standards </span><span>concept) are grounded in natural resources policy rather than in common </span><span>law nuisance or in pollution’s externalities. But treating air and, more </span><span>recently, our atmosphere as a resource also anchors our way of thinking </span><span>to the natural-resource paradigm. The atmosphere, in particular, may be </span><span>beyond sustainable use. Reimagining air may be necessary to address the </span><span>worst impacts of a new problem for air: global climate change.</span>; </div>
