The Advantages Of The Clean Air Act?

The Supremacy clause of the U.S. Constitution establishes that the federal constitution, and federal law generally, take precedence over state laws, and even state constitutions. While in this particular matter, the statutes of the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) would generally trump the state level regulations of organizations such as the California Air Resources Board (CARB), however the EPA has also mandated that “The setting of these pollutant standards was coupled with directing the states to develop state implementation plans (SIPs), applicable to appropriate industrial sources in the state, in order to achieve these standards.” (EPA, 2015) The standards in questions are called National Ambient Air Quality Standards (NAAQS)

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.

Another time it has been used was with the Clean Air Act. The clean air act was a mandate put by the national government, that all of the states must follow, that is unless that states want to face fines by the government. The Clean air act is a federal law that was passed in an effort to regulate air emissions from mobile and immobile devices.

Before the Clean Air Act (CAA) was passed by Congress, the Air Pollution Act of 1955 and Motor Vehicle Act of 1960 preceded it. The two acts before the CAA did not really do much except jump starting research and throwing plenty of money at the research. When the research was released to Congress from the Motor Vehicle Act, Congress found out that approximately 60% of pollution was coming from vehicles; of the pollutants that were being emitted from vehicles, the most prominent that were found were Carbon Monoxide (CO), Nitrogen Oxide (NOx), and Hydrocarbons. These findings pushed Congress to pass another bill that would help to slow down pollution, especially from vehicles. However, when the CAA was passed, it did not mandate any reductions

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 Clean Air Act was the first major environmental law in the United States to include a provision for citizen suits. Numerous state and local governments have enacted similar legislation, either implementing federal programs or filling in locally important gaps in federal

Although the United States passed the Clean Air Act in 1970, but also have half of Americans breathe dirty air (CBSNEWS,2014). The American Lung Association will release an air pollution report every year, which named the State of the Air. According to the report, although the air quality has despite the gradual increase but also have 166 million people breathe polluted air in the United States (lung.org, 2016).

“The Clean Air Act has worked for America. It has protected the public health without holding our economy back. In fact, since 1970, emissions of the six major air pollutants have dropped by 29% while the population has grown by 28% and the gross domestic product has nearly doubled” (para. 12). In other words, if this has already worked for the United States in the past, why not try updating it and incorporating it into our current lifestyles? With the Clean Air Act, Browning hopes that the Environmental Protection Agency, or the EPA, will stop thinking about the cost it would take to improve public health and increase just do whatever it takes. There is no monetary to human life, no matter how many people think

The clean Air Act deals with solving air pollution problems through science and new information. The purpose for this act is to decrease the amount of pollution that we give off, and work towards making the air cleaner for everyone. Although progress has been made to lower pollution levels, it still is a threat to people’s lives. A goal that was set in the year 1975 was going to try and achieve National Ambient Air Quality Standards in every state to keep people healthy.

Improved air quality wasn’t a subject of national concern until the mid 1900s. After decades of coal burning, unregulated gas emissions from cars and the excessive burning of fossil fuels, people started noticing bad air quality as a hazard to their lives. Over several decades, after seeing the costly effects air pollution was having on the environment and people’s health, interest groups like the Friends of The Earth club and the influences of Theodore Roosevelt and Rachel Carson’s Silent Spring finally came together to persuade the government to enforce legislation that would reduce air pollution. Because of these efforts, the policies of the Clean Air Act of 1963 and the Motor Vehicle Pollution Control Act of 1965, that aimed to control air pollution and raise air quality standards, helped create the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) on December 2, 1970. Since then, the EPA has passed more air quality improvement acts, and amendments to previous acts passed, to increase restrictions on air pollutants, with their main policy concern being the Clean Air Act. Improved air quality acts imposed by the EPA have been successful in cleaning the United States’ air quality by reducing ground-level ozone pollution and reducing emissions, allowing for a decrease in pollution related deaths/illnesses and a better standard of living. The EPA, through regulations and the Clean Air Act, has delivered it’s promise to improve air quality in the United States.

In the 1970’s there was growing confusion regarding environmental policy due to certain states creating environmental protection laws which were largely ineffective. To ease confusion, fix national guidelines, and monitor and enforce them President Richard Nixon created the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA). The EPA functions under three federal departments: the Interior, Agriculture, and Health, Education and Welfare departments. The original role of the EPA was to administrate the Clean Air Act which was enacted to reduce the air pollution caused by vehicles and industry. The EPA has since grown to enforce at least 12 major statutes such as: ocean dumping laws, safe drinking water, insecticides, and asbestos hazards in

PPA empowered EPA (Environmental Protection Agency) to develop and co-ordinate all pollution – prevention strategies

Clean Air Act Amendments of 1977 impose certain requirements on States that have not achieved the national air quality standards established by the Environmental Protection Agency in earlier legislation. The Amendments required the “nonattainment” states to establish a permit

Air pollution are impacting the environment, and it is imperative that laws are enforced to help build and sustain a better air quality. Air pollutants can be in the form of particulate matter which can be very harmful to our health. Stimulation to our eyes, nose, throat, and breathing infections such as bronchitis and pneumonia are all short-term effects. You’re head might hurt, you might want to puke, and you might have allergic reactions. Short-term air pollution can put people with asthma and emphysema in a worse condition. Long lasting breathing disease, lung cancer, heart disease, and even damage to your brains, nerves, livers, or kidneys are all long-term effects. If you’re exposed to air pollution continuously, it would affect children’s lungs and may complicate medical conditions for the elders. Some people argue and deny the bad air problem. They claim that pollution may actually be good for the Earth. The hazy weather caused by pollution has made plants far more productive when it comes to scrubbing greenhouse gasses out of the air. Pollution has turned plants into better carbon dioxide processing machines. But this is bad for our own health. Pollution is causing global warming which leads to massive ice land melting. Polar bears and other animals that live there are losing there habitats and even dying. Melting ice could also lead to more sea water which would bury some cities or land near the coastal areas. There is already a tremendous amount of people on this planet. If our land decreases, and our population continues to increase, some people would have to start living on another planet; therefore, making it a priority to address the areas

since 1970. 40 percent of sulfer dioxide in the air has been reduced, as well