Ever since the Environmental Protection Agency otherwise known as the EPA, and the Clean Air Act were enacted into law in 1970 the American Auto Industry has been inundated with many environmental challenges such as brake debris/tire particles, paint and coating, auto shredding residue, battery content, smog, and gasoline. For the first time in 14 years, cost reduction ranked 32% compared to environmental issues such as emissions and fuel economy which ranked 53% in consumer reports. Black carbon, lung toxicity and high levels of toxicity in soil have been blamed on both brake debris and tire particles. The amount of debris from the brakes depends on two factors, the weight of the vehicle and how often the driver uses their brakes. The heavier a vehicle is the more resistance is needed to apply pressure to the brakes causing more debris/particles to fly off …show more content…
Junkyards use compact machines that will smash a vehicle into a flat piece of metal or into a cube, then they are placed into an auto shredder. The material or residue from the shredder has various toxins in it like copper, rubber, plastic, chrome, mercury to name just a few. This material is then used to cover landfills, but recently it has been used in kilns as feedstock (renewable, biological material) used for fuel, which can potentially put these toxins into the air. When a car battery dies most people will take it to a shop or store that carries their brand of battery and turn in the old battery for a core fee, what happens afterward is the battery will be recycled. Vehicle batteries consist of a lead and acid content; Ninety-three percent (93%) of the content can be recycled, but the seven (7%) accounts for 42,000 tons of lead being released into the environment because the lead does not break down like the other
Increasing environmental awareness, coupled with a responsible American government and improved technology, have all contributed to the comeback of low-and zero-emissions vehicles in the US. It remains to be seen whether the automakers and oil companies will once again work to halt this progress, or embrace it as the technology of a more responsible future.
The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) regulates air pollution through various policies passed through the Supreme Court. The scope of this paper is to investigate the Clean Air Act of 1970, and to analyze the impact it has on businesses and society. It provides a rationale for the policy, and contains a brief overview of governmental involvement in regulating air pollution. Further investigation identifies key stakeholders in business, government, and society, and assesses the pros and cons of regulating air pollution. Finally, the paper concludes with limitations of this analysis and recommendations for future action.
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...
The piece of legislation that is responsible for enforcing and regulating the production of hazardous waste, its type of management and disposal methods is known as The Hazardous Waste (England and Wales)Regulations 2005. According to The Hazardous Waste (England and Wales)Regulations 2005 part 1 of the legislation it states in article 4 of the waste directive is that the waste must be disposed of in a way that doesn’t harm human health or resorting to ways which would degrade the environment such as the surrounding surface such as soil, the natural flora in the area and the local fauna of the surrounding environment.
Harmful emissions from the landfills escape into the air we breathe. The soil and water are also contaminated from our
The food that they throw away first goes to the dumpsters and then they end up in landfills. This is also where the dumpster divers, or “scavengers” as Eighner prefers to be called, begin their search for food (353). Where he mostly found a great deal of dumpsters was in the city. As he puts it, “the land is now covered with cities,” which means that there will be an abundance of trash that needs to be disposed of (361). This leads to more landfills needed to be made and that takes a toll on the earth. Dockterman has stated that “the buildup of decomposing organic material accounts for 16% of environmentally harmful methane emissions in the U.S.;” these emissions go into the atmosphere that we breath our oxygen from (Dockterman). Not only does this practice affect people survival-wise, but also the earth that billions of people live
Purchasing a car is one of the hugest or biggest accomplishments that a person can achieve on their own. However, what happens when that purchase turns out to also be the worst decision that was ever made? The purchase was a success and a goal was achieved, but the moment the key is turned and the engine is started the contribution to environmental harm begins. As the car is driven, the gasoline fumes that are released from the car contribute to the other many factors and pollutants that damage the environment. Not only is the purchase now a contributor to the depletion of clean air, but it could also play a part in the depletion of someone’s health. For example, asthma or bronchitis could develop in an adult or child as a direct result of breathing in noxious automotive fumes. Depending on where one lives, there could be strict regulations on air pollution. One must be accountable for any and all contributions made to the demise of what was once a healthy Earth. One must be accountable for his or her own carbon footprint. Some individuals have taken steps to reduce their carbon footprints and cause less harm to the environment by purchasing electric cars.
Contamination of Water and Air. Urbanization enhances the proliferation of industries, automobiles, and agricultural practices. Most toxic air contaminants are produced as we endeavor to fuel our homes, automobiles, factories, energy production facilities, and might also be discovered in indoor cleansing mixtures, and construction supplies. Furthermore, pollutants found in gasoline, dry cleaning services, and paint thinners and strippers; some concentrations are presumed to cause cancers, or elevate other serious health risks. As a consequence these noxious air contaminants can be deposited in soils and water sources allowing them to be taken in by plants or swallowed by animals....
When most people hear the word recycling they think of plastic water bottles, milk jugs, or even old paper that they can reuse, but this is not necessarily the case anymore. Scientists and researchers have discovered a new form of recycling that is going to help better the environment and it can even help make people money! Smokers around the world do not think about recycling their used cigarette butts, but this new form of recycling has changed some of their minds on this subject. Recycling has been a major environmental issue, but most people have forgotten about it or they just do not care for it anymore. Paper recycling dates back to as far as 400 B.C. Some people even say that the early Romans recycled their bronze coins so that they
“Automobiles have a large impact on the quality of our environment and public health. Automobile use affects virtually every aspect of environmental quality - including noise levels, air quality, water pollution, and urban sprawl. Ninety percent of the environmental impact of automobiles occurs through the operation of the cars: about 10 percent from the production, raw materials and disposal of automobiles.
Recycling is of great importance, and its importance is economic and environmental. It preserves natural resources, reduces depletion, reduces the amount of waste, reduces its growth, conserves the environment, cleanses it of some harmful waste, reduces unemployment and creates opportunities. New work.
These groups introduced the rule that US mid size vehicles must list the entire components within and materials type and mass must also be identified. In order to justify the government reaction, the necessary data has been taken for clarity, and tangible control for the effect of emission on the environment is also underway. It is clear that the US consumption of polluting substances like lead, platinum and rubber has dropped due to improvements in the environmental friendliness of auto manufacturing, since these materials have been in use for cars since the 1950s.
Factories and transportation depend on huge amounts of fuel--billions of tons of coal and oil are consumed around the world every year. When these fuels burn they introduce smoke and other, less visible, by-products into the atmosphere.
Recycling is an important asset to the world “going green”, (keeping the environment healthy), project people have been working on for at least a decade. Over the years the environment has suffered immensely because we humans haven’t done what is needed to make sure that our planet can flourish and evolve into its full potential. When we drive down the roads, or walk on the streets, or even relax in our own yards, we don’t think about the paper wrapper we just threw out the window, or the bottle we left on the park bench or the napkins we let fly off our table and were too lazy to pick up. A good percentage of the waste on our planet is due to exactly that. LAZINESS. Humans have this mind set that if they don’t want to do it, and they can get away with it, then usually they aren't going to do it. Plain and simple, people are just lazy. Basically, if everyone would just pick up after themselves, half of the worlds pollution and filth would be taken care of. The way to do this in a beneficial manner is simply by recycling.
Traditional methods of waste disposal have proven to be ineffective and have caused harmful effects on the environment. The most popular and inexpensive way to get rid of garbage is burial, but burying your problems does not necessarily mean getting rid of them. Landfill sites pose as severe ecological threats as these mass garbage dump yards overflow with trash and frequently contaminate our air, soil and water with hazardous wastes. About 400 million tons of hazardous wastes are generated each year1. A large-scale release of these materials can cause thousands of deaths and may poison the environment for many years. For example many industrial companies around the world cannot afford to enforce the strict pollution regulations set by many developed countries. This usually forces these types of companies to move to developing countries where pollution regulations are very lenient. These developing countries knowingly accept environmentally hazardous companies usually because they are in desperate need of employment. The harmful effects of these companies were clearly illustrated in the 1960s and 1970s when residents living near Minamata Bay, Japan, developed nervous disorders, tremors, and paralysis in a mysterious epidemic. The root was later found to be a local industry that had released mercury, a highly toxic element, into Minamata Bay. The disaster had claimed the lives of 400 people1. Since 1970 you can bet that a lot more than 400 people have died as a result of waste disposal. If the type of waste disposal were cheaper and effective we wouldn’t have to deal with waste problems, which still plague mankind today.