PHS 100A
Warner Pacific College
October 24, 2011
In my opinion environmental
regulations such as the Clean Water Act implemented by the Environmental
Protection Agency are great strides in the right direction. Based on the
reading from our text Withgott, J., & Bennan, S. (2011), the Clean Water
Act requires that harmful toxins and bacteria be removed from waste water
discharged into U.S. waterways (p.171). Although this may be a great stride,
the question is: how can its full potential be realized? If the purpose of the
regulation is to regulate resource use or reduce pollution to promote human
welfare and/ or protect natural systems, it is crucial that we not only implement
rules and guidelines, but also awareness and education so that everyone has
knowledge and understanding on what the issues are, how the issues affect
humans, animals, natural resources etc., and what we as a community can do to
help remedy the issue.
For instance the text
reported on the Tijuana River located in Mexico and its subpar sewage system that
continues to over flow and as a result continues to pollute and contaminate
both Mexico and U.S. waterways. This contamination not only affects nature, but is also has
an economic impact. For Mexico and The U.S. additional funds need to be
allocated and used to find a long-term solution such as planning and building a
larger sewage treatment plant larger than the one built in 1997, to accommodate
the rapidly growing population. Also cleanup efforts for this type of project
could affect federal and state budgets. Although, attempting to fix the problem
may cost money, you cannot put a price on a person’s life and health nor
wildlife’s wellbeing, so in my opinion when it comes to the health and
wellbeing of humans and wildlife our natural duty should be to eat the cost and
fix the problem, if we do not preserve our sustainability, who will? I believe
countries need to develop international laws to provide compensation for damage
that activities under their control cause to areas beyond their borders. The
ability of two countries with different political motivations, values, funding
accessibility, and other contributing factors to come together to look after
the best interest of people is crucial in setting an example for others to
follow. People want to have proof
that certain things are successful before trying them. According to ESD Toolkit
(2011),” Nations shall cooperate to conserve, protect and restore the health
and integrity of the Earth's ecosystem. The developed countries acknowledge the
responsibility that they bear in the international pursuit of sustainable
development in view of the pressures their societies place on the global
environment and of the technologies and financial resources they command”. This
speaks to taking responsibility for your actions or more so your lack of action
as a nation.
As a result of the continual contamination from the Tijuana River water California beaches have suffered severe polluted and unsafe water as well as Mexico. These conditions have caused California officials to take action and close beaches in an effort to protect people from diseases such as salmonella, shigella, fibrial, cholera, hepatitis A, and Malaria caused by the harmful water. Unfortunately, the marine that lives in the water doesn’t receive that privilege and they are forced to deal with the conditions of pollution and contamination that has lead to many of their deaths. As a result of the beach closures, it has had a negative economic impact, because beach closures according to Withgott, J., & Bennan, S. (2011) reduce recreation, tourism, other activity associated with clean coastal areas and ultimately each of the above have a direct affect on incoming revenue. For both Mexico and southern California each year their beaches host over 175 million visitors who spend over $1.5 billion. At this point the pros and cons need to be weighed, because I am quite sure that the reduced revenue puts a strain on the state and city budget which then eventually affects the local business (p.168). It’s a domino effect, and people need to be aware and proactive in all that we do to ensure that people have a healthy and productive life in harmony with nature.
In
conclusion, I understand that what Mexico has failed to do to protect its
citizens has now for many years affected U.S. citizens and I believe that
Mexico should be held accountable for the pollutions, contaminations, and the
costs to fix the problem because they caused it. The ESD toolkit (2011) says,
“Nations have the sovereign right to exploit their own resources, but without
causing environmental damage beyond their borders”. This statement seems to be
the right approach, but at who’s expense?
Although, Mexico needs to take responsibility, I
believe that more needs to be done on the United States’ behalf to ensure that
safety and wellbeing of all people and wildlife. Regulations may set for
guidelines and rules, but what is a rule if there is no consequences and
repercussions for not following and adhering to them. Monitoring, enforcing,
and continuous evaluation is key in staying current on issues and find ways to
fix them, because the EPA implemented the Clean Water Act and for several years
Mexico has violated the CWA despite several attempts to put a band aid over and
oozing wound. Although, violations continue to occur there has been some
progress, Withgott, J., & Bennan, S. (2011) reported that, the House or
representatives passed the Tijuana River Valley Estuary and Beach Sewage
Cleanup Act in 2000 to authorized the United States to take actions to address
comprehensively the treatment of sewage emanating from the Tijuana River area,
Mexico, that flows untreated or partially treated into the United States
causing significant adverse public health and environmental impacts that(p.170).
Also in 2008 advocacy work along the San Diego-Tijuana border led
the federal U.S. government to allocate $66 million dollars for sewage
treatment plant upgrades. There continue to be efforts, but the efforts fall
short of supplying an actual long-term resolution to a long-term problem.
Regulations are nothing without effectiveness and efficiency.
References
Retrieved on October 21, 2011 from,
http://www.esdtoolkit.org/discussion/default.htm
Withgott, J.,
& Bennan, S. (2011). Environment: the science behind the stories (4th
ed.). New York, NY. Pearson Benjamin Cummings. ISBN-13:
9780321715340
Retrieved October 21, 2011 from, http://www1.american.edu/ted/TIJUANA.HTM
Retrieved October 22, 2011 from,
http://www.wildcoast.net/who-we-are
No comments:
Post a Comment