Clear Air Law Chapter Summary

Clean coal technology usually addresses atmospheric problems resulting from burning coal. Historically, the primary focus was on sulfur dioxide and particulates, since it is the most important gas in the causation of acid rain. More recent focus has been on carbon dioxide (due to its impact on global warming) as well as other pollutants. Concerns exist regarding the economic viability of these technologies and the timeframe of delivery, potentially high hidden economic costs in terms of social and environmental damage, and the costs and viability of disposing of removed carbon and other toxic matter. More, the byproducts of coal power production range from fly ash sludge ponds full of mercury, arsenic, and sulfur in unlined ponds that can leak into the water supply.

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

The city of Pekin has a history of very dangerous and unhealthy levels of air pollution caused by power plants and ethanol manufactures. “The Pekin area has the highest level of sulfur dioxide air pollution in the state, according to the Illinois Environmental Protection Agency (IEPA), a level that now exceeds tightened federal standards” (Pekin has worst sulfur dioxide air pollution in state, 2011). This environmental issue has had great health effects on the Pekin community because of the mass quantity of sulfur dioxide pollutants in the air. “Exposure to sulfur dioxide, which is released when fossil fuels like coal and oil are burned, causes respiratory problems for children, the elderly and those with asthma or other respiratory illnesses, according to the IEPA. It narrows airways, leading to difficulty breathing” (Pekin has worst sulfur dioxide air pollution in state, 2011). The health problems that sulfur dioxide cause is detrimental to the health of the citizens in the city of

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.

It was not until the Clean Act of 1970 that enforcement at the federal level being in more a serious way. To quote the EPA website directly “The enactment of the Clean Air Act of 1970 (1970 CAA) resulted in a major shift in the federal government's role in air pollution control. This legislation authorized the development of comprehensive federal and state regulations to limit emissions from both stationary (industrial) sources and mobile sources. Four major regulatory programs affecting stationary sources were initiated: the National Ambient Air Quality Standards (NAAQS, pronounced "knacks"), State Implementation Plans (SIPs), New Source Performance Standards (NSPS), and National Emission Standards for Hazardous Air Pollutants (NESHAPs). Furthermore,

regulation, in the United States, stemmed from the Clean Air Act of 1970. The act instituted the first federal standards for air quality and enabled these standards to be enforced. It also authorized federal and state regulations to limit emissions from stationary, or industrial, sources and mobile sources like automobiles. Specifically, its goal for automobiles was to reduce pollution and health problems caused by vehicles and by gasoline use. Catalytic converters, which convert would-be toxic emissions into less harmful gasses, became a required component in new vehicles in 1976. Leaded gasoline was phased out because vehicles with the converter could not operate on it, and this also eliminated the public health concern caused by lead. By

The clean air act is regulatory act that has a purpose of monitoring and adjusting the emissions from mobile and stationary sources, like vehicles and factories. As a whole and individual states, the clean air act’s purpose in the United States is to keep the air quality clean so people can live in healthy environments with clean air. Each individual state has their own different standards when it comes to air quality. To each of the factories and power plants that follow the clean air act standards are given allowances. The places that switch over to the clean burning systems, solar power, wind power and so on, are also given these

You make an excellent point by mentioning the effects of the exposure on those who have conditions such as respiratory illnesses and asthma. In addition to your thoughts, the National Resources Defense Council states, “Roughly thirty percent of childhood asthma is due to environmental exposures, costing the nation two billion per year” (2014). Additionally, people who have not been diagnosed with asthma are said to develop constricted and swollen airways after environmental exposures. Taking into consideration the case that occurred in Kingston, Tennessee, I would conclude that respiratory illnesses soared directly following the incident. In your opinion, what would be the best intervention to alleviate the consequences of the coal

The people where becoming more aware of the connection between burning coal and atmospheric pollution. The people of london also became more aware of the negative health effects that where caused by burning the coal. The public’s demand for change became so large that in 1956 the government took action. The British government gave the local government authority to provide the funds to the people to replace the coal heaters. They replaced their coal heaters with more environment friendly heaters such as oil, gas electricity, and or smokeless coal. This change came with laws that where immediately enforced. These restrictions banned the use of dirty fuels. they also enforced the clean air act in 1956. The clean air act outlawed the burning of coal for heat. 12 years later in 1968 another important act was passed. This act called for factories to have taller chimneys, Taller chimneys would take the air pollutants from burning coal in these factories and release it higher in to the atmosphere. The act of 1968 stopped the immediate effects of air pollution but also created some problem. having taller chimneys created a problem, the usage of taller chimneys pushed the pollutants higher in the atmosphere witch in

The National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA), requiring federal agencies to assess the environmental effects of their proposed actions prior to making decisions, was signed into law on January 1, 1970, becoming one of the first laws ever written that established the broad national framework for protecting the environment. NEPA's basic policy is to assure that the branches of government give appropriate consideration to the environment prior to committing to any major federal act that significantly affects the environment.

Environmental maintenance and integration of health standards are a global concern every living human being must put into consideration in their day to day activities. Ideally, over 25 percent of the world’s registered deaths and reported diseases can be attributed to the inherent environmental factors which are diversified with far reaching consequences. Moreover, the contemporary interventional research outcomes on environmental sanitation around the globe depicted the benefits prioritizing of proper environmental control strategies. These appropriate environmental strategies are aimed at exposing the hazardous health-related issues that have continued to rampage humanity. Therefore, this research paper seeks to address the various environmental and societal factors affecting the health and sanitation of the inhabitants as well as understanding the environmental health standards that are in place. In addition, the paper will aim to discuss fundamental concepts in relation to the intervention techniques that are linked to the environmental sanitation globally.

In 1990 the Clean Air Act 1990 was created as recent advancements and awareness were aiding people in noticing what impacts greenhouse gasses were contributing to acid rain and noticed that sulfur from coal plants were contributing to this problem. The goal of the policy was to reduce the total national SO2 emissions to half of what they were during 1990. The Clean Air Act allowed companies to produce a certain amount of emission per year, and this number varied as it depended on the amount of energy that the company supplied to their customers.

The clean air act is a United States federal law designed to control air pollution on a national level. It is one of the first and most influential modern environmental laws and one of the most comprehensive air quality laws in the world. This act is specifically targeting four areas: acid rain, urban air pollution, toxic air emissions and the ozone depletion. This law was passed to protect human health and the environment from the effects of air pollution. One way to clean up air pollution is to conserve energy turn of our lights computers, electrical appliances when they are not in use .Or we can use efficient light bulbs and appliances. The clean air act requires to build or add major stationary sources of air pollution, this permitting process is known as new source review that apply to sources in areas that meet the air quality standards as well as areas that are unclassifiable areas referred to as prevention of significant deterioration . The fundamental goals are to prevent new non-attainment areas by ensuring economic growth in harmony with existing clean air. Also to preserve and enhance the air quality in our national parks and other surrounding areas of special natural recreational, scenic and historical value.

Many countries in world have started facing poor air quality issues due to excessive use of coal for electricity generation. In addition to this, air pollution generated by fossil fuel vehicles is also adding to the troubles. Premature deaths and serious health issues are on rise due to highly polluted air.