Environmental Degradation Essay

Even though the US is one of the most advanced countries, the amount of air pollution much too high. The toxicity of the air in several US cities very sad. Although, many different countries have levels of air pollution that are also unacceptable, by the World Health Organization (WHO) standards. This leads many people too wonder, how bad is the air in the United States? Obviously, the air here is not great, as almost anyone can tell. This is especially true for many cities, according to…

The EPA (Environmental Protection Agency) created in 1970 has a prodigious and important job pertaining to the people of America and the land that Americans inhabit. According to the EPA’s website their mission, “ is to protect human health and the environment (EPA.gov).” Who helps oversee the actions of the EPA, so that they can continue their mission? What powers do the EPA possess to help with their mission? What major steps have they taken that have helped them in their mission? All of these…

mobile sources such as vehicles. The act itself allocated $95 million, about $740 million today, towards research and establishing more programs to control pollution. This money was distributed over a three year period to local governments and environmental agencies. Additionally the act recognized the issue of sulfur emissions from high sulfur content coal and oil. As a result…

Numerous studies have been done to determine how pollution is affecting our earth, and the humans who live on it. The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) was developed by President Richard Nixon on December 2, 1970. The United States created the EPA for the purpose of protecting human health and the environment by banning and limiting harmful pollutants by means of laws and testing standards. There are three main areas the EPA attempts to monitor and protect; those three main concerns are air,…

Imagine this… muddy water, fish dying, and smelly lakes. Yup. These were the descriptions of the U.S’s waterways before 1972. We were in serious trouble. Some waterways became wasteland of smelly water and floating sludge. All over the country people were troubled about how we employ water and they let the government know. The effect was the Water Act of 1972 and its goals of making water "fishable and swimmable." In 1972, Congress passed a law called The Water Act of 1972 to help protect and…

The smog policy in California is also frequently referred to as the smog check program and was first implemented in 1984. Its main purpose is to ensure the adherence to the goal of having cars make the least amount of pollution. This policy dictates that all cars should undergo inspections, but there are certain car categories that have been exempted from the biennial smog inspections. A key part of the policy involves the identification of the cars that have the highest levels of pollution and…

Today, in a society full of advanced technology, people think our country is perfect. With water resistant phones, 3-D holographic advancements, and cars equipped with automatic braking systems, it is no wonder Americans have this perceived idea of perfection. However, our country is suffering from a problem that we thought only third world countries suffered from, and our carelessness about this issue is not helping our increasingly dangerous situation. Water is everything; water is everywhere.…

enormous sum of money to support it. At the same time, oil and mining companies were taxed in order to support this fund. The fund was established in the early 80’s to support sites which have experienced environmental disaster. According to the documentary, Tar Creek is the “worst environmental disaster” (Myers, 2010). It was sad to witness how the town started to disappear when the mining industry arrived. The path of contaminated orange water begins in Kansas, it continues to run through…

The proposition in which I chose to conduct research on is California Proposition 65. This proposition is also known as the Safe Drinking Water and Toxic Enforcement Act of 1986. This proposition was issued by the Office of Environmental Health Hazard Assessment. According to the website prop 65 clearinghouse this proposition does not allow a person who is doing business in California to expose chemicals that can cause cancer or reproductive toxicity without giving a warning. Also chemicals are…

Prior to the 19th century, the idea of ‘wilderness’ was associated with desolation and an incredible fear of the unknown. This can mostly be attributed to early Christianity; in the Bible all things ‘wild’ were of hellish nature and meant only unpredictable darkness. It wasn’t until the beginning of the American romantic movement that this perception began to shift in the wake of great minds such as Henry David Thoreau, Ralph Waldo Emerson, James Fenimore Cooper, Thomas Cole, and many other…