by: Trevor Sanders
Global warming and pollution have been talked about often in recent years. Every time I am watching TV there seems to be at least commercial that is pointed towards sustainability, whether it is Jaden Smith talking about sustainable clothing or Dawn pointing a finger at oil spills. While environmental organizations and individuals can have a positive impact on the environment, much of the pollution comes from major corporations and industries that are so large (and needed in some circumstances), and have so much waste, that individual actions pale in comparison. This is why it is important that there are laws and mandates in place that do not allow these large industry leading organizations to cut costs by doing things that are incredibly harmful to the environment.
I thought it might be informative to go over some of the most impactful laws in America that are in place to protect our environment, and us in return!
The Clean Air Act was passed in 1970. This law is set in place to prevent and control air pollution. Regulation of air emissions takes place through the National Ambient Air Quality Standard. There are places around the world, India and China to name a couple, where air pollution can cause people to get sick and make it uninhabitable for animals and plant life. We do not see this in America in part to the Clean Air Act
The Clean Water Act of 1977 was passed to restore and maintain the integrity of the United States water. This law came to pass after rivers, oceans, and other bodies of water were being damaged from corporations due to how they were getting rid of their waste. Due to this law, dumping is no longer allowed and American bodies of water are some of the heathiest around the world.
The Safe Drinking Water Act was passed in 1974. This is an important law because of the standards that it set for what safe drinking water actually was. This law has been used often within the last 50 years to make sure that the water that was available to citizens to drink is clear of contaminants.
After seeing how harmful oil spills are to the environment, the Oil Pollution Act of 1990 was passed. This law forces oil companies to follow to have plans set in place to prevent and clean up oil spills. This law also established a fund that is available to use by the government for oil spill clean up in the case of a large oil spill. Ocean life is better protected due to this law.
This next law, Resource Conservation and Recovery Act of 1976, promotes protection of human health and the environment. This law attempts to oversee the handling of solid and hazardous wastes from cradle to grave. There are still wastes that are in our environment that are harmful for it, but this law makes sure that they are not a direct harm to human health.
