Numerous issues but primarily the environment fall under the jurisdiction of the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA). According to their website, the EPA was established on December 2, 1970 in order to consolidate several areas of government control concerned with protecting the environment. (n.d.) One of the major topics the EPA has addressed was the impact of the automobile industry on the environment. In the 1970’s several hearings occurred that called Automobile manufacturers to give an account to the measures they were taking to reduce pollution from the emissions given off by their products. The administrator of the EPA, William D. Ruckelshaus did this due to the Clean Air Act of 1970 (n.d.) The Clean Air Act required auto manufacturers …show more content…
Those 22,000 plus patent filings was an increase of 182% over previous years. (Reuters, 2013). This increase is credited to the United States requiring auto manufacturers to double the fuel efficiency of their vehicles. The United States auto industry faces many new challenges when it comes to how it impacts the environment. Whether it is the new guidelines set forth by the EPA on emission control, international protocols such as the Kyoto Protocol or trying to to develop alternative power sources they must stay abreast of new regulations and technologies. The Clean Air act first drafted in the 1970’s pushes American industries to be accountable for the pollution that they produce so that the people of the world can enjoy a clean environment. The international community has embraced this attitude with the passing of the Kyoto Protocol and other agreements aimed at reducing emissions and other pollutants. This is a good step towards protecting the environment because pollution produced in one nation can affect the environment in a nation across the globe from the original
The EPA deals with a lot of pollution regulations in regards to automobile emissions, nuclear materials, and harmful substances in products. They make sure that these regulations are based on the most recent scientific research and attempt to implement them fairly (US Environmental, 2015). This agency not only creates and sets these standards, but works with companies and states to help the federal standards be met, whether the aid is in knowledge of new technologies, money, or innovative ideas.
The United States Environmental Protection Agency is an agency of the U.S. federal government which was created for the purpose of protecting human health and the environment by writing and enforcing regulations based on laws passed by Congress. The EPA was proposed by President Richard Nixon and began operation on December 2, 1970, after Nixon signed an executive order. The order establishing the EPA was ratified by committee hearings in the House and Senate. The agency is led by its Administrator, who is appointed by the president and approved by Congress. The current administrator is Gina McCarthy. The EPA is not a Cabinet department, but the administrator is normally given cabinet rank.
Cars have always been a big deal in the United States. Ever since Henry Ford invented his Model T in 1908, the automobile industry in the United Sates has continued to grow (“Henry Ford Changes the World,” 2005). While Ford was not the original inventor the automobile, he created the first automobiles that were affordable, easy to drive and maintain, which made it possible for everyday people to own cars. Ford’s assembly line building technique became the benchmark for all the big auto manufactures of that day (“Henry Ford Changes the World,” 2005). Ford, General Motors, and Chrysler soon became known as the “Big Three” American automobile companies (Foner & Garraty, 1991). While the automobile industry has immensely grown and changed from the early 1900’s to now, it continues to be at the forefront of industries creating environmental concerns worldwide. Issues currently being faced by the American Auto Industry include: having to handle tough global competition by foreign automakers, figuring out how to incorporate new technology to power vehicles (such as electric or ethanol run cars), and having to face new higher government and consumer quality and environmental standards.
The two most important laws governing the EPA were passed by Congress within a two-year span of Richard Nixon’s presidency (The Atlantic, 2017). The Clean Air Act of 1970 states the EPA can set standards for what kinds of toxic air pollutants can be released into the “ambient air,” and the Clean Water Act of 1972, states the EPA can set standards for what pollutants can be released into lakes, streams, and rivers, and requires polluters to obtain permits in order to pollute (The Atlantic, 2017). Under the Obama Administration, the CAA and the CWA underwent major rule changes.
Like many of us the letters EPA spark interest and a sense of security. For those of us who do not know what or who it stands for it is the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency. This agency continues to clear up what is fact or fallacies. For example, most Americans believe Bottled water to be pure and safe. There are some chemicals in the battled water as well as tap water. According to Cynthia Dougherty the director of EPA, “The EPA is stating that the United States has one of the safest water supplies in the world and that we have a very, very high assurance of safe, high-quality drinking water (Lunsford 717). It’s with her statement about how safe regular tap water is due to the use of similar-chemicals found in bottled water. However, we find within her comments regarding tap water, not all being 100% safe in some cases such as on Indian Reservations or in a few cities were the EPA regulations may not be in compliance.
Historically, The United State had invented the steam engine and began using automobile long before 1896 when Henry Ford build the first car. Since then, the country has undergone series of dramatic changes affecting the automobile industry politically, economically, technologically, and socio-culturally, including series of global and environmental challenges. These environmental challenges facing the industries can be acknowledged in the following areas:
In fact, environmentalists came into the picture to push the government into doing something concrete in order to preserve the earth’s ecosystems. The government had the moral obligation to take action, and some laws were enacted to control pollution. For example, the Clean Air Act was in 1963, the Clean Water Act in 1972, and the Safe Drinking Water Act in 1974. Additionally, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency or EPA was established in 1970, with the purpose of protecting the health of human beings and the environment by enforcing regulations based on laws passed by the
bikes, trains, or to carpool to go to work or to school. This is a big threat
The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) was created to improve human health through ensuring a safe environment. One of the EPA’s main priorities is to develop and enforce regulations (Adler). The regulations put into place are mandatory requirements that must be obeyed. Regulations can apply to anything, including businesses, state or local governments, private institutions, or individuals (“Regulations”). Even though the EPA serves to help humans by protecting the environment, it can also harm humans. The damages done to our economic lifestyles are getting worse as the EPA gains more power. Because the EPA is the only regulatory agency for the environment, they can make the rules as strict as they want. This can be problematic for
This report will focus on the environmental challenges that the American automobile industry is facing today. First, we will discuss global competition for American automobile manufacturers. Next, we will look at new technologies that are revolutionizing the automobile industry. Then, we will consider the effect of automobile emissions on the environment and what the US government is doing to try to regulate this. Finally, we will discuss consumer opinions about the “American-made” automobile.
In contrast, emissions from automobile fueled by gasoline and industrial plants and other factories that burn oil and coal negatively affect the atmosphere. Pungent smelling odors in the air, which is being expelled from these facilities are being deemed greenhouse gases. Nearly, eighty percent of the United States greenhouse gases are carbon dioxide emissions from energy connected sources. The automobile industry took notice specifically the electric-auto maker Tesla Motors, who ditched their electric car patents in an effort to incite a revolution in the production of electric cars. Tesla Motors realized that their company could not mass produce enough electric cars to compete with the auto makers who were producing gasoline cars at an enormous
Power plants are the largest source of U.S. mercury emissions to the air. Once mercury from the air reaches water, microorganisms can change it into methyl mercury, a highly toxic form that builds up in fish which is how people are primarily exposed to mercury by eating the contaminated fish. In the year 2011, the United States Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) signed a rule to reduce emissions of toxic air pollutants, specifically Mercury, from coal fired power plants. The resulting Mercury and Air Toxic Standards (MATS) are used to reduce the emissions of Mercury and other hazardous toxic substances resulting from coal fired power plants. The three control measures that the EPA recommends to reduce the emission of Mercury are selective catalytic reduction (SCR), selective noncatalytic reduction (SNCR), and ammonia (NH3). The EPA claims that once these emission reduction controls are in place, Mercury emissions will be reduced 70 percent to fifteen tons per year by the year 2018 and the EPA estimates that mercury deposition would be reduced 8 percent on average in the Eastern United States.
The environmental challenges facing American auto industry is very huge, as a result of large number of vehicles on the road causing air emission, pollution of the environment that has a negative impact to people’s health today, due to the toxicology and the effect of carbon, hydrogen and carbon monoxide emission on the environment. These has also contributed to the climate change, death and disappearing of some species of wild life today in the United States. Waste stream has been accumulated with vehicles that are out of service, road ban, and they are contributing to the environmental concerns in terms of their poor storage management and lack of proper plan for disposal of such hazardous material, lack of adequate recycling plan for vehicle component or parts.
We live in a world where synthetic chemicals are routinely used for the production of essential components of modern life. As more research emerges correlations are made, chemicals are tested, and toxicants are identified, reengineered, and replaced with others equal in cause but unequal in effect. The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) is the national authority tasked with this dynamic approach.
The EPA deals with a lot of pollution regulations in regards to automobile emissions, nuclear materials, and harmful substances in products. They make sure that these regulations are based on the most recent scientific research and attempt to implement them fairly (US Environmental, 2015). This agency not only creates and sets these standards but works with companies and states to help the federal standards be met, whether the aid is in knowledge of new technologies, money, or innovative ideas.