Warner Pacific College
August 4, 2014
Natural Resources and Regulation
The
United States of America has many untapped natural resources that are being
accessed in order to maintain the workings of everyday life that we as country
have become accustomed to. We have depended on the natural resources of
countries all around the world to ensure that we have things we need, but it is
getting to a place that we need to start looking at our own sustainability,
natural resources, and overall dependence to live. There are many pros and cons
that need to be taken into account as we start to access our natural resources.
This becomes a issues that all people need to be aware of and have a say in,
due the nature of extracting and utilizing the precious resource that lay
beneath our soil, in our water, and the wind that blows across the plains. We
cannot deny that the world around us is experiencing major unrest, and the
natural resource pools we have drawn from in the past are running dry, have
become political tools, and have left us searching for other options.
As
a country we are working on discovering new was to access hydro power, wind
power, and now natural gas beneath the ground. In order for us to continue
moving towards being self-sustainable as a country we are going to have to enforce
regulations that have been put in place to ensure that the environment is well
taken care of over time. This brings us to hydro fracking the Marcellus shale,
and what this will mean for federal regulations. There are two sides to this issue
there is big business” Safe drilling for natural gas has the potential to
create thousands of new jobs and millions of dollars in economic investment”
(Withgott & Laposata M, 2013, p. 162) and the environmentalist” There’s no
safe way to put toxic chemicals into the ground and control them” (Withgott & Laposata M, 2013, p.
162) because of the specific concerns regulations have been put in place to
ensure that all is being done to conserve the natural environment.
The
“Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) is called a regulatory agency because Congress authorizes us
to write regulations that explain the technical, operational, and legal details
necessary to implement laws. Regulations are mandatory requirements that can
apply to individuals, businesses, state or local governments, non-profit
institutions, or others “(EPA Website, 2014). It is true that these agencies
take a great deal of money to operate the amount of money we save in the long
run does not compare to the price we would pay if we did not take care of the
environment in the long run.
The Clean Air Act of
1990 was put in place to establish guidelines that are strictly monitored by
this agency to ensure that when the extraction of our natural resources are
taking place the environment’s best interest is being cared for.
“EPA sets limits on certain air pollutants,
including setting limits on how much can be in the
air anywhere in the United States. The Clean Air Act also gives EPA the
authority to limit
emissions of air pollutants coming from sources like chemical plants, utilities,
and steel
mills. Individual states or tribes may have stronger air pollution laws, but
they may not
have weaker pollution limits than those set by EPA. (EPA, website, 2014)
The Clean Water
Act is another regulation that was put into place to ensure that we are
protecting all bodies of water and the people that they serve. “Other needed regulations, however, are in danger of being
repealed. Laws we need to prevent people from getting sick. Regulations
hold companies to standards that keep them operating so that the public remains
healthy and safe. The Environmental Protection Agency, for example, writes
regulations that pertain to clean air, water, and land” (Austin, 2011). It is critical to continue to advocate
and fight for the protection of our natural resources and environment. It is
certain that we will need to think outside of the box and look for resources in
places that we normally would not, but the life of our planet depends on it.
Resources
Austin, p. (2011, October 18). Startribune. The
importance of regulation on health, jobs, and the environment, p. 1.
EPA [website]. (2014). Summary of
Acts. Retrieved from: http://www2.epa.gov/laws-regulations. July, 30, 2014
Withgott, J. &.
(2013). Environment the science behind
the stories. Boston: Person Education.
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