Air pollution continues to be a significant problem in the city of Birmingham, as it has been for decades. No one enjoys walking the streets of Birmingham only to taste or smell the smoke and particulates in the air, not to mention the damaging effects to one’s health. Fortunately, improvements have been made; forty years ago, residents of Birmingham could not even see the skyline due to the immense amounts of particulates in the air, but now the skyline is visible on a daily basis. The noticeable improvement indicates the progress that has been made over the years, but there is still plenty of room for much needed improvement. Birmingham’s air quality is among some of the worst in the United States, but there are several feasible and relatively simple solutions which would make a positive impact on air quality, undoing the damaging effects on human and environmental health: recycling, proper disposal of used tires, and closely monitoring factory waste disposal. In the United States before 1970, there was no law in place regarding pollution which led to toxic air quality levels. Conversely, the Environmental Protection Agency passed a new law, the Clean Air Act, which led to federal District Judge Sam Pointer ordering an emergency halt to the operations of 23 smokestack industries in Birmingham until the passing of the emergency period (Spencer). The Clean Air Act was passed with intentions of creating clearer and uncontaminated air across the country, but Birmingham’s air was nowhere near clear and uncontaminated. Over the course of the past 40 years, adjustments have been made to factories and mills, and it has not gone unnoticed. As written by Spencer, “the EPA has proposed that Birmingham be certified as having attained co... ... middle of paper ... ...useless to create a product such as rubber asphalt which lasts longer than asphalt itself. Works Cited Spencer, Thomas. "An Old Cloud of Polluted Air Lifts from Birmingham's Shoulders | Al.com." Alabama Blogs and Bloggers-Al.com. Web. 23 Nov 2011. Kallman, Matt. "August 2008 Monthly Update: Air Pollution's Causes, Consequences and Solutions | "Coal Burning Power Plants." Black Warrior Riverkeeper. Web. 23 Nov 2011. “Downtown B’ham Recycling Center.” Web. 23 Dec 2011. Lioy, Paul J., and Panos G. Georgopoulos. “New Jersey: A Case Study of the Reduction in Urban and Suburban Air Pollution From the 1950s to 2010.” Environmental Health Perspectives 119. 10 (2011): 1351-1355. Academic Search Premier. Web. 8 Dec 2011. “Tire Trouble." Family Education Network, Resource for Parents, Teachers & Kids. PearsonSchool.com-Family Education Network. Web. 23 Nov 2011.
Exxon/Mobil, one of the nation’s leading oil producers, has its main refinery located in Beaumont, Texas. Each year, the residents of Beaumont/Port Arthur have to contend with the 39,000 pounds of pollution spewed each year by the Exxon refinery. Exxon’s emissions are 385% above the state refinery average. In 1999, the Texas Natural Resources Conservation Committee (TNRCC) allowed the plant to increase their emissions, without allowing the public to have a say in the matter. Interestingly, 95% of the people living near the plant are of African American descent and are in the poverty range. Some believe that this, along with the lack of education in the area, allows Exxon to get away with such high emissions. Residents in nearby neighborhoods have been complaining of headaches, nausea, eye, and throat irritation for years. Since 1997, Mobil has repeatedly violated health standards in its emissions of two key air pollutants: sulfur dioxide and hydrogen sulfide, These “rotten egg” smells are so strong, one can smell it through a car driving past the refinery. After numerous complaints and one record of a refinery worker becoming unconscious because of the fumes, the EPA awarded Exxon with a $100,000 environmental justice grant in October of 1998. Hopefully, Exxon has put the money to good use and cleaned up their emissions.
Take a deep breath, Phoenicians. How did it feel? Most likely, it felt good. But did you know that you are breathing air that is unnecessarily polluted? Did you know that by taking a few steps in the right direction, you could breathe worry-free? While Phoenix and Maricopa County have done much in the past few years in controlling the air pollution, there needs to be more action in order to secure clean air in the long-term. There are two things we can do: implement programs from another city with a pollution problem like ours, and take matters directly into our own hands by changing our lifestyle to positively affect the air quality.
Salt Lake City, Provo and Logan rank consistently in the top ten U.S. Cities for the air pollution. Vehicle emission account for more than hal...
This era brought economic growth as well as harsh air pollutants. As the population mass migrated from rural farms to industrial cities, poor air quality resulted in chronic illness and premature deaths among laborers and residents. Second, “the CAA is a good economic investment for Americans” (EPA). According to an EPA study, the benefits of the CAA are projected to exceed the compliance costs by 30 – to – 1 in the year 2020. The study concludes that the CAA positively impacts the overall “economic welfare of American households” because higher air quality leads to less adverse health problems, reducing medical visits and increasing working days, which “more than offset the economic impacts from expenditures for pollution control” (EPA).
The quality of air we intake on a daily basis is essential to our health, therefore, the EPA’s Clean Air Act provides the groundwork to support the quality of the air which we breathe. One of the goals of the Act was to set and achieve NAAQS in every state by 1975 to address the public health and welfare risks posed by certain air pollutants. 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 stat...
Pollution has always been a big concern for anyone who has seen films or pictures from some of the Southeast Asian countries, where smog sometimes fills the whole sky of cities. Indeed, pollution is a terrible thing, but unfortunately it is a real concern for our modern times. There is always a price to pay for advancing, and in many cases that price is the creation of harmful substances to the environment around us, and sometimes even to us. One shocking example of this happened not so long ago right here in the United States, when one of the five great lakes, Lake Erie, was so full of pollution around Cleveland that almost all of the wildlife died and people could literally walk across the top of the pollution on the lake. Obviously, nobody wants anything like this to ever happen again. Fortunately, the lake was eventually cleaned up, but the damage was done, both to the environment and to the psyche and mindset of the American people. Some people see big box retailers as a cause of much pollution, and for some people that’s all they need to hear in order to be eternally opposed against big box retailers.
Imagine living in a smog, pollution free environment where the air was clean and skies were clear. Unfortunately, we do not have this luxury of that reality in the Central Valley. As many are aware, the Central Valley has a reputation of being one of the most polluted areas in California. With the air so polluted, it makes living in the Central Valley a little more difficult for everyone, whether it is realized or not. Although there are many reasons that cause the air to be polluted, the air in the Central Valley is polluted mainly because of the large manufacture infrastructures, semi/diesel trucks, fireplaces, and farming. Indeed, there are many reasons for air pollution, but let’s move on to the first reason.
There was a concern that industries would not be able to perform as well or meet the requirements demanded by Congress. The fear that the economy would suffer under strict environmental regulations never came to be. Since the introduction of the Clean Air Act of 1970, “aggregate emissions of common air pollutants dropped 68 percent, while the U.S. gross domestic product grew 212 percent. Total private sector jobs increased by 88 percent during the same period” (Clean Air Act and Economy). There is a cornucopia of reasons as to why the U.S. has benefitted from the Clean Air Act: environmental costs are a small percentage of industry revenues, cleaner technologies have made the U.S. a global market leader, more people can work because they are healthier, less money spent on illness, increase in employment and increased revenues… (Clean Air Act and Economy). It is clear that strict pollution laws do not harm the
Pollution is a major problem for all of us. People need to recognize this situation so we can start making a difference to this problem. In order to start making a difference, the federal government should increase gasoline tax by one dollar a gallon. Fifty percent of this dollar will go towards public transportation, since passenger cars and trucks are a major contribution towards air pollution, according to the United States Environmental Protection Agency, E.P.A (10/4, http://www.epa.gov/autoemissions/emsns.html). Due to the expected increase after this is put forth, the remaining fifty percent of the dollar will go towards safety on these transits. When public transportation increases, air pollution will decrease, which will lessen the harmful health risks towards the environment.
The Clean Air Act was passed by Congress in 1970, and was revised in 1977 and by 1990 to enlarge time limits, however, has specified new methodologies for cleaning the air. By enforcing new laws, the government will guarantee that the air ought to be cleaner and therefore make public health a framework. It has been indicated that the toxic lead emissions have dropped by 98% and the figure dioxide has dropped by 35%, even the carbon monoxide dropped by 32% (2010). One ought to begin by saying that the Clean Air Act is one of the few authoritative activities planned to diminish the vicinity of brown haze, carbon dioxide, and whatever viable environmental pollution by and large. The US Clear Air Act was passed by the United States Congress in 1963 and afterward would make various different acts to help the Clear Air Act: Clean Air Act Amendment of 1966, Clean Air Extension of 1970; Clean Air Act Amendment of 1977 and Clean Air Act Amendment of 1990.
One of the most dangerous environment issues Southern California is facing today is air pollution. This includes the burning of fossil fuels and natural disasters. Los Angeles is one of the most polluted cities in the world, and the most polluted city in the United States. I will research information about the causes, the effects, and the history of air pollution in the Los Angeles. For my research, I have relied mostly on, the school’s database and library, as well as current events.
Air pollution is caused by many things such as car fumes, burning of fossil fuels,
PURPOSE: To persuade my audience that we must take action now to control air pollution
Hoboken N.J.: John Wiley & Sons, 2008. Web. Loh, Penn, and Jodi Sugerman-Brozan. "Environmental Justice Organizing for Environmental Health: Case Study on Asthma and Diesel Exhaust in Roxbury, Massachusetts. " Annals of the American Academy of Political and Social Science 584 (2002): 110-24.
If a person living in a city living in the city goes out for a walk, they will see that everything is perfect. The air is fresh and the beaches are clean and the sea waters look crystal clear. Even though everything looks right, problem still persists in other parts of the world. A lot of people’s thinking about the environment is confined to their surroundings and where they live, so they do not realize that the environment is in danger because of their actions. What should come into their concern first is that even though everything looks perfect, their community and surroundings are also polluted. In cities, the streets and the parks may be sparkling clean, there is no guarantee that the air is clean. In large cities, megapolises and metropolises, a major mode of transportation are cars. Car usage produces a lot of carbon dioxid...