The $787 billion stimulus package signed into law Tuesday could eventually reduce air pollution in Orange County, although economic recovery — when it comes – is likely to raise smog levels at first, according to a UC Irvine economics professor.

In both cases, associate economics professor Gary Richardson said, the key is the area’s large number of commuters.

“The impact on the economy could have a perverse effect on the environment,” he said of recovery. “Unemployment is good for emissions. People who don’t work are not driving to work, and it cuts down on pollution.”

Putting people back to work, he said, could lead to a slight increase in air pollution.

But in the long-term, money pumped into alternative fuel vehicles would result in a steep drop in air pollution in commuter-heavy areas like Orange County.

“The air quality in Orange County would improve dramatically,” Richardson said. “A major source we have of pollution here is automobile exhaust.”

That could come in the next 10 to 15 years, he said, if the Obama administration is successful in pushing broader use of low-emission vehicles.

“Expect bluer skies, less athsma, healthier kids,” he said in a week that saw Orange County’s horizon scrubbed clean by rain.

“Every day will be like today, the day after a rainstorm,” he said. “You could see the mountains surrounding the Los Angeles basin, you would always know there are islands off our coast. You often don’t see those because of the smog blanket.”

The stimulus bill includes about $100 billion for clean energy projects, a White House estimate says, including $11 billion to modernize the nation’s electric grid.

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