EPA Environmental Issues

-The EPA is all about helping and protecting nature and our selves, they have passed many laws to keep us safe. Some of these laws include: C.A.A., or the Clean Air Act. This is a Federal law they passed to make sure we’re not releasing too much emission into the air, or releasing really bad things. Another law they have passed is the C.W.A., or Clean Water Act, this is also a Federal law, it protects our water systems from getting infested with pollution and toxic chemicals, without this we could lose our fishing

The U.S. was rocked by a series of waste land toxic materials, the earth's automatic, self-cleansing, life support systems became increasingly threatened and consequently people from all walks of life and from every part of the political spectrum were expressing their anxieties on the streets and this happened to b the largest public American demonstration ever seen in America. Hence prompting President Richard Nixon transmitted Reorganization Plan No. 3 to the United States Congress by executive order, creating the EPA as a single, independent agency from a number of smaller arms of different federal agencies.

The energy category, which “focuses on developing clean energy alternatives to oil and coal and securing nuclear waste and nuclear stockpiles”, receives just over 1% of the federal budget (Document E). Efficient, renewable, and clean energy has recently become a major concern for people in general, especially with the spread of global warming awareness. Now, the race is on to minimize United States contribution to climate change, and in order to make a lasting impact, more money must be allocated to related projects. Also part of the Little Guys category is natural resources and environment, with 1% of the budget (Document E). Also in the vein of environmental conservation, this category deals with the essentials of life, a growing concern in the face of climate change and population growth. In order to find more efficient and ‘greener’ methods of transportation, consumption, and waste management, money taken from other categories must also be distributed here. Finally, general science and space, the national park service, and the FBI come into play, totaling $31 billion, $.1billion, and $8 billion respectively (Document E). Amongst these three categories exists great potential for shifts in budget. The FBI, for example, may be able to function with significantly less money, which, if placed in the general science and space category, may allow for technological advancements, and even answers to many of the issues faced nationally and internationally in modern

Ecology, the U.S. Department of Energy, and the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency as spelled out

He announced it was the first symbolic act of “the environmental decade.” Between the years of 1970 and 1972, Nixon created the Environmental Protection Agency and signed laws including the Clean Air Act, Clean Water Act, and the Marine Mammal Protection Act. Another thing he did was sign executive orders and international agreements on environmental issues. In early 1973, an international conference was held to discuss endangered species. The product of the conference was the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora. The U.S. needed a new legislation to meet some of the agreement’s provisions and it led to the Endangered Species Act. In Nixon’s State of the Union speech in 1973, he called for stronger wildlife protection. The results of these environmental laws and international agreements made the public extremely happy. Even though Nixon’s intentions were selfish when he got involved in environmental concerns, he responded unquestionably positive. All his hard work helped pave the way for a cleaner society.

A con to repealing NEPA stems from the idea that federal and non-federal projects alike could take place anywhere without any environmental mitigation measures or considerations if it was repealed. This would cause a “free-for-all” in our country, and environmental disaster would result from the even quicker human-induced environmental change. The removal of NEPA would also impact other agencies’ environmental compliance requirements, as many of those requirements are implemented under NEPA.

The United States Environmental Protection Agency or EPA was initially proposed in 1970 by then President Richard Nixon. The agency was created to build on other environmental regulations enacted by the federal government and to consolidate those efforts to be managed by one government agency. It was also a reaction to the public’s growing concern over pollution and other environmental issues. Chemical waste was commonly released into bodies of water creating unsafe drinking water and rivers catching fire. Industrial air pollution, such as acid rain and smog, was also affecting manufacturing cities with coal-powered plants. There was little serious regulation on pollution until major environment laws started being passed by Congress in the early sixties.

The environmental protection agency has been stepping up its mandate of ensuring safer and better environment for not only the business operators, buts also the society as a whole. In order to achieve this goal of environmental protection, there has been the creation of environmental protection agency that has ensured that all the businesses, irrespective of their size and type, strive to ensure that the environment is protected for the benefit of current and future generations.

This was the first declaration by federal government identifying that it was the rights of states and local governments to be responsible for controlling air pollution. The government took the health and public welfare of Americans seriously by passing the Air Pollution Act, but ironically, the federal government was not in any form engaging in air pollution clean up or prosecuting those responsible for pollution. This act did not reduce any of the smog in the atmosphere, nor did it make it easier for states with low funding to tackle their own city’s air pollution problems. The unseen long term benefits of this act were the federal research funds implemented to conduct air pollution research which eventually structured the Clean Air Act of

The national or federal environmental administration asks their states to help maintain a safe and clean environment for all of its’ people to enjoy. The National Environmental Policy Act or also known as NEPA was established in 1969 to aid federal agencies to help convey the message for the need to protect the environment. “Federal agencies are required to systematically assess the environmental impacts of their proposed actions and consider alternative ways of accomplishing their missions, which are less damaging to and protective of the environment” (U.S. General Services Administration). Even though the National Environmental Policy Act “requires” federal agencies to ensure states to follow through, Texas has not fully committed to the requirement. “Texas contains an abundance of natural resources, but efforts to impost environmental regulations have faced roadblocks for many decades” (The Texas Tribune). Texas has neglected to keep the environment’s safety in mind and thought of only the business boom. The natural resources found on the land of Texas represents a magnet that attracts people. Texas desires to continue the attraction of people into the state as it is allowing the state to flourish in economic matters. During the past few decades, “From 1970 and 1980, as oil prices spiraled upward and people flocked to Texas,” (Petersen and Assanie) there has been little attempt made in conserving

The Clean Air Act is a United States federal law designed to control air pollution on a national level.[1] It is one of the United States' first and most influential modern environmental laws, and one of the most comprehensive air quality laws in the world.[2][3] As with many other major U.S. federal environmental statutes, it is administered by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), in coordination with state, local, and tribal governments.[4] Its implementing regulations are codified at 40 C.F.R. Subchapter C, Parts 50-97.

The 1970’s represent a pivotal point in history that rewrote how America viewed its environmental policies- both on a policymaker and citizen scientist standpoint. As the public became more aware of environmental issues, concern about pollution, improper disposal, dwindling resources, radiation and poisoning enraptured a growing number of supporters. These supporters made it so that unlike the Progressive Era’s conservation movement (1890’s-1920’s), which was mainly elitists, this modern movement was pushed by “the common man.” It was an era that celebrated leaders such as John Muir, Henry David Thoreau, Ralph Waldo Emerson and Thomas Jefferson. One of those leaders in the forefront of these radical changes was Congressman Morris K.

The inception of U.S. Environmental policy most notably began under the Presidency of Richard Nixon; Nixon oversaw the passage of the Clean Air Act, Clean Water Act and the creation of the Environmental Policy Act (EPA). The Clean Water Act of 1972, in particular, enacted stringent laws to prevent pollutants from entering navigable waters, outlawing open sewers from dumping crud into a local stream and the law also protects land that filters and purifies water as it flows by. The Landmark law passed in 1972, however, has not impeded the pending water crisis facing the U.S. today. The United States must take immediate measures in order to combat the problem; given that the U.S. Office of the Director of National Intelligence now ranks water scarcity as a major threat to national security; right next to Terrorism (Sullivan). The United States should reform the Clean Water Act of 1972 to look for any deficiencies in the law.

The federal government has wisely divided up their branches into individual departments. This choice has allowed for the federal government to be more organized. Every federal government department is incredibly important to the United States; there is not one greater than the other. However, the departments under the environmental category have accomplished many fantastic projects that have created a healthier living space for the United States. The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) under the environmental category will be dissected into two main sections: the history of the department and the major responsibilities of the department.

The Senate Committee on Public Works recognized the ever-growing environmental issues and released House report No. 1829 stating, “Pollution of our water resources by domestic and industrial wastes has become an increasingly serious problem... Polluted waters menace the public health, destroy fish and game life, and rob us of other benefits of our natural resources.” Accompanied by support from President Harry S. Truman, although not without dispute, the FWPCA of 1948 was passed by Congress (Berry 1969). Disagreement was had over whether water pollution was an issue to be dealt with by the state or the federal government. An issue that remains today. The vision of a substantially enforced legislation diminished into a much more feeble bill where water pollution was viewed as a state or local problem and the Federal government only intervened when invited to settle interstate water conflicts (Berry