Environmental Regulation Acts
Environmental pollution remains one of the major challenges in the modern world. Environmental pollution refers to the undesirable alteration of the social surroundings, partly or mainly caused by man’s actions such as the indirect or direct effect of changes in energy patterns, physical composition, and prevalence of organisms, and radiation changes. Environmental pollution has attracted the attention of man due to its severe short-term and long-term effects. The depletion of environmental quality has led to the loss of vegetation, biological diversity, and emission of excessive chemicals to the atmosphere that threatens the health of human beings. The change in environment has prompted the world to enact some regulations towards curbing the undesirable effects. The regulations consist of a clean air act, clean water act, and the Montreal Protocol, which, over the past decades, caused some intrusions in the social-economic aspect of the world. However, the acts progressively contribute to the wellness of the human life.
The devastating environmental condition of air before 1963 led to the enactment of the Clean Air Act of 1963. President Lyndon Johnson signed the CAA into law in December 1963. Additionally, the act experienced several amendments that occurred in 1966, 1970, 1977, and 1990. Before the enactment, smog-choked the cities in America! The smog caused health effects with individuals reporting body irritations, serious illnesses, and even death. The enactment of the CAA act led to the reduction of lead in children’s blood from 84% to just 4% (Cardoni, 2010). However, the CAA caused some social-economic intrusions such as relocation of industries, which creates a great set of private and social costs (Walker, 2013, p. 2). The relocation also leads to job loss leading to high levels of unemployment and impoverishment. However, the benefits of the CAA outweigh the economic impacts created. The act has contributed to improved human health, reduced lead in children’s blood, and reduced mortality.
The Montreal protocol has prevailed as a successful international environmental treaty. The protocol has successfully met its stipulated period. Additionally, it has minimized the production and consumption of ozone-depleting substances (Roberts, 2010, p. 33). The Montreal protocol has experienced seven ratifications and ratification in over196 countries after its enactment in 1987 (Cardoni, 2010). The protocol consists of innovative regulations that require developed countries to phase out ozone-depleting substances. However, according to Leahy (2017), “Industry lobbied the Ronald Reagan White House and tried to get the Senate to deny ratification of the Protocol, warning of dire economic impacts resulting from a phase-down of their products,” (para. 8). Besides, the act requires a lot of funding for implementation. Yet, the enactment has proven successful with the world projecting total eradication of the ozone layer by 2050. Additionally, Leahy (2017) highlights the positive impacts of the Montreal protocol, which consist of, “improved human health, poverty eradication, climate change, and protecting the food chain at an anniversary celebration,” (para. 1).
The United States enacted the Clean Water Act (CWA) of 1972 to save the rivers from the adverse effects of chemical waste. President Nixon signed the regulation into law after the Cuyahoga River caught fire, which spread fast due to oil that contaminated the water (Cardoni, 2010). The CWA serves as the primary federal that checks on water quality and the nation’s waterways. The enactment has caused intrusion on the United States Government’s expenditure. According Keiser and Shapiro (2017), “the Clean Water Act’s benefits have exceeded its costs, which have been enormous. Since 1972, government and industry have spent over $1 trillion to abate water pollution, or over $100 per person-year,” (p. 350). However, the CWA has shown minimal efforts in safeguarding the American rivers from pollution. Yet, one notable positive impact of the river consists of the fact that the Cuyahoga River’s fire tragedies seized after the enactment of the clean water act in 1972.
Adverse environmental effects from environmental pollution by the human population prompted the enactment of several regulations. The regulations include the Clean Water Act, the Montreal Protocol, and the Clean Water Act. These regulations progressively contribute to the wellness of the human population through reduced harmful emission of chemicals, conservation of clean water sources, and notably, improved ozone layer. The CWA regulates the release of harmful greenhouse gasses to the environment. However, the enactment of the regulations caused some intrusions, which include relocation of industries, unemployment, and increased expenditure from governments. The world insists on these regulations as they reduce effects of environmental pollution on the human health and destruction of the ozone layer. Human health has improved greatly with the world targeting complete restoration of the ozone layer by 2050.
References
Cardoni, S. (2010, July 1). Top 5 pieces of environmental legislation. ABC News. https://abcnews.go.com/Technology/top-pieces-environmental-legislation/story?id=11067662#:~:text=Our%20five%20most%20effective%20pieces,they%20inhabit%20have%20dramatically%20improved
Keiser, D., & Shapiro, J. (2017). Consequences of the Clean Water Act and the demand for water quality. https://doi.org/10.3386/w23070
Leahy, S. (2017, September 25). Without the ozone treaty You’d get sunburned in 5 minutes. National Geographic. https://www.nationalgeographic.com/news/2017/09/montreal-protocol-ozone-treaty-30-climate-change-hcfs-hfcs/
Roberts, M. W. (2010). The Montreal Protocol Must Act to Prevent Global Climate Change While Restoring the Ozone Layer. Environmental Law Commons, 9(3), 33-67. https://digitalcommons.wcl.american.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=1131&context=sdlp
Walker, R. (2012). The transitional costs of sectoral reallocation: Evidence from the Clean Air Act and the workforce. SSRN Electronic Journal. https://doi.org/10.2139/ssrn.2000069