2008 Woodie Awards
Balancing production and pollution
Stronger regulations to protect the environment
Sanjay Navaratnam
Issue date: 4/12/07 Section: Web Exclusive
The country has become more environmentally conscious and the concept of protecting the environment has moved into the mainstream after being marginalized over the decades.
Due to the short economic gains of a few at the cost of many, the United States is faced with multitude of problems, ranging from degradation of the forest, accessibility of clean water and air, stagnation of hazardous wastes, patricidal side effects and many more. Some do their part to in recycling, but more steps need to be taken to enhance the quality of our earth.
Given the global reach of the consequences of our acts, citizens need to approach environmental protection in transnational way. Presently the U.S. is one of the few developed nations that have relaxed environmental laws. Since it's inception in 1969 the National Environmental Policy Act has encouraged productive and enjoyable harmony between man and the environment but has only passes 31 acts to protect our immediate society. Due to the narrowness of coverage, many of the 31 acts are somewhat redundant an ineffectual. An example would be the 1984 Asbestos School Hazard Abatement Act and the 1986 Asbestos Hazard Emergency Response Act. Both deal with the same issue but cover different aspects of it.
Clean Air Act was passed around 1990 and the infrastructures of many industries to meet the requirements of that act are getting to be more than 15 years old. Nothing has been done to negotiate new standards so many of these firms are replacing or retrofitting their systems. With the technological advances made in recent years the U.S. needs to get more stringent with their environmental regulations.
Another issue is the interpretation and enforcement of these laws have been constantly manipulated by politicians to cater to the needs of lobby groups. Mountain top mining causes severe environmental degradation. Soil and rock are scraped away by enormous machines to expose the buried coal seam, and then dumped down the mountainside into the valleys and streams below. All of which violates clean water and air acts passed by the EPA through acid mine drainage and other side effects of mountain-top mining. However, the strong lobby of the mining industry, our dependency on fossil fuel, financial influence of the coal industry and the political influence of Robert Byrd, West Virginia's senior senator gives the governing bodies a cause for concern to enforce these regulations.
Due to the short economic gains of a few at the cost of many, the United States is faced with multitude of problems, ranging from degradation of the forest, accessibility of clean water and air, stagnation of hazardous wastes, patricidal side effects and many more. Some do their part to in recycling, but more steps need to be taken to enhance the quality of our earth.
Given the global reach of the consequences of our acts, citizens need to approach environmental protection in transnational way. Presently the U.S. is one of the few developed nations that have relaxed environmental laws. Since it's inception in 1969 the National Environmental Policy Act has encouraged productive and enjoyable harmony between man and the environment but has only passes 31 acts to protect our immediate society. Due to the narrowness of coverage, many of the 31 acts are somewhat redundant an ineffectual. An example would be the 1984 Asbestos School Hazard Abatement Act and the 1986 Asbestos Hazard Emergency Response Act. Both deal with the same issue but cover different aspects of it.
Clean Air Act was passed around 1990 and the infrastructures of many industries to meet the requirements of that act are getting to be more than 15 years old. Nothing has been done to negotiate new standards so many of these firms are replacing or retrofitting their systems. With the technological advances made in recent years the U.S. needs to get more stringent with their environmental regulations.
Another issue is the interpretation and enforcement of these laws have been constantly manipulated by politicians to cater to the needs of lobby groups. Mountain top mining causes severe environmental degradation. Soil and rock are scraped away by enormous machines to expose the buried coal seam, and then dumped down the mountainside into the valleys and streams below. All of which violates clean water and air acts passed by the EPA through acid mine drainage and other side effects of mountain-top mining. However, the strong lobby of the mining industry, our dependency on fossil fuel, financial influence of the coal industry and the political influence of Robert Byrd, West Virginia's senior senator gives the governing bodies a cause for concern to enforce these regulations.
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