“The Congress hereby declares it to be the national policy of the United States that pollution should be prevented or reduced at the source whenever feasible; pollution that cannot be prevented should be recycled in an environmentally safe manner, whenever feasible; pollution that cannot be prevented or recycled should be treated in an environmentally safe manner whenever feasible; and disposal or other release into the environment should be employed only as a last resort and should be conducted in an environmentally safe manner.”
— the Environmental Protection Agency
Pollution has affected almost every aspect of human life from who you vote for, what car you buy, and even where you go for vacation. But one particular type of pollution has been a significant point in question during this year’s debate tournaments: air pollution. According to the World Health Organization, air pollution is “contamination of the indoor or outdoor environment by any chemical, physical or biological agent that modifies the natural characteristics of the atmosphere.” (World Health Organization) In this paper, I’ll be talking about the history of air pollution, current policies regarding the issue, and how it affects us American citizens. So let’s begin.
History
History has shown that air pollution has been a pressing issue for centuries, with evidence of its harmful effects dating back to ancient civilizations. Though most people believe that pollution began with the Industrial Revolution, it actually came into effect long before the 18th century. According to the Smithsonian Magazine, “First it was wood fires in ancient homes, the effects of which have been found in the blackened lungs of mummified tissue from Egypt, Peru and Great Britain. And the Romans earn the dubious credit of being perhaps the first to spew metallic pollutants into the air, long before the Industrial Revolution.” (Smithsonian Magazine) And even Seneca complained about the toxic air hovering above the city of Rome. “No sooner had I left behind the oppressive atmosphere of the city [Rome] and that reek of smoking cookers which pour out, along with clouds of ashes, all the poisonous fumes they’ve accumulated in their interiors whenever they’re started up, than I noticed the change in my condition.” Colonization didn’t help matters — in fact, it only helped it spread to the Americas. The Industrial Revolution and the use of fossil fuels fanned the sometimes literal flames, particularly in cities that spearheaded the progress of the era (i.e. Birmingham, Manchester, Chicago, etc.). By the late 19th century, people had had enough. They began campaigning against the smoke that covered the industrial-centered cities and succeeded in getting laws passed in their favor. However, the legislation didn’t make much of a difference since they mandated minor fines and the “best practicable” solution — an easy loophole to exploit.
The invention of the car in 1886 didn’t help matters, although people didn’t realize it until around the mid-20th century. Three miasmas of noxious smoke descended in three different cities at three different times: Los Angeles in 1943, Donora, PA in 1948, and London in 1952. Great Britain instituted their Clean Air Act in 1956, and 7 years later, the United States did the same thing (though the 1970 Act took further steps to preserve the people’s health in relation to the issue). In 1965, the U.S. government set the first national emission standards for cars.
According to the Environmental Protection Agency, the latest edition of the Clean Air Act “mandates controls on air pollution from mobile sources by regulating both the composition of fuels and emission-control components on motor vehicles and nonroad engines.” (Environmental Protection Agency). In essence, it keeps vehicles from emitting too many toxins.
And speaking of policies, let’s look at some of the other pollution-related legislation in effect today.
Current Policies
“EPA regulations require that all fuel and fuel additives produced, imported and sold in the United States meet certain standards. EPA conducts targeted and random inspections to evaluate compliance with these standards and brings enforcement actions against parties that violate these standards to reduce harmful emissions caused by fuel that does not meet the applicable standards.”
There are a few policies regarding air pollution, but the two most important are the Renewable Fuel Standards, and the Pollution Protection Act — created in 2005 and 1990, respectively.
There’s a case about abolishing the Renewable Fuel Standard, which was created to lower greenhouse gas emissions and increase the nation’s renewable fuel while decreasing our dependence on other countries for it. According to the National Library of Medicine, “The Renewable Fuel Standard (RFS) specifies the use of biofuels in the United States and thereby guides nearly half of all global biofuel production, yet outcomes of this keystone climate and environmental regulation remain unclear.” Actually, the RFS is a subset of the Clean Air Act. “EPA establishes the standards through a notice-and-comment rulemaking process with opportunity for public comment and stakeholder engagement.”
Though some people may claim that the requirements of the RFS diminish livestock-feeding production, according to evidence from the Thomson Reuters Foundation News, “There is no clear relationship between biofuels and higher prices that threaten access to food, as some prior analysis has suggested, according to the research partly funded by the U.S. Department of Energy.” The article also explains the connection between biofuels and the RFS: “Research shows the standard has caused grasslands and wetlands to be converted into farms to produce biofuels, said Emily Cassidy, a research analyst with the Environmental Work Group, which has criticized the RFS.”
Another policy related to air pollution is the Pollution Protection Act — created in 1990. It “established a national policy to prevent or reduce pollution at the source, whenever feasible. Pollution prevention approaches should be applied to all pollution-generating activities,” according to the Cornell Law School Legal Information Institute. According to a summary by the EPA Alumni Association, “Pollution prevention was the subject of several executive orders on ‘Greening the Government,’ and [the] EPA promoted its use by businesses through competitive grants to states and tribes.” An Office of Pollution Prevention must be created, a pollution prevention strategy must be developed, and source reduction models must be developed, pursuant to the act. “The Office of Pollution Prevention reviews and advises single medium program offices to promote an integrated, multi-media (i.e., air, land, and water) approach to source reduction,” according to U.S. Legal.
Current Issues
Obviously, air is very important to the survival and health of human beings. However, as time goes on, it has become contaminated by all of the gasses and fumes we have emitted with the production of technology. According to the Minnesota Pollution Control Agency, “Exposure to air pollution can affect everyone’s health. When we breathe in air pollutants, they can enter our bloodstream and contribute to coughing or itchy eyes and cause or worsen many breathing and lung diseases, leading to hospitalizations, cancer, or even premature death.” (Minnesota Pollution Control Agency) So air pollution has a direct effect on the human condition.
In 2022, 66 million tons of pollution were released into the air in the United States. According to the National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences, “vehicle emissions, fuel oils and natural gas to heat homes, by-products of manufacturing and power generation, particularly coal-fueled power plants, and fumes from chemical production are the primary sources of human-made air pollution.” Almost all — if not all — of these topics have been discussed in at least one debate this season, from the EV mandate and CAFE standards cases to our own personal geothermal energy case. But even outside of the debate world, a lot of these issues hold significant weight in commonplace conversations.
For example, electric vehicles are said to lower one’s carbon footprint and reduce toxic emissions. But even disregarding all the counterarguments about cost and the dearth of charging stations, there are people that dispute even that one simple point. Domestic clean energy sources have also caused major controversy as people contest the merits of solar, wind, and — you guessed it — geothermal energy in lieu of fossil fuels. Not to mention the effluvium that could come along with the production of all and any of these prospects as well as with any other potential progress in the energy sector. It’s been a preeminent political debate as well as an ongoing symposium within homes, schools, and workplaces.
According to the Environmental Protection Agency, “despite dramatic progress cleaning the air since 1970, air pollution in the United States continues to harm people’s health and the environment. Under the Clean Air Act, EPA continues to work with state, local and tribal governments, other federal agencies, and stakeholders to reduce air pollution and the damage that it causes.”
Sources:
Environmental Protection Agency: https://www.epa.gov/p2/pollution-prevention-act-1990 || https://www.epa.gov/regulatory-information-topic/regulatory-and-guidance-information-topic-air#:~:text=The%20Clean%20Air%20Act%20(CAA)%20mandates%20controls%20on%20air%20pollution,motor%20vehicles%20and%20nonroad%20engines || https://www.epa.gov/enforcement/air-enforcement || https://www.epa.gov/clean-air-act-overview/air-pollution-current-and-future-challenges
World Health Organization: https://www.who.int/health-topics/air-pollution#tab=tab_1
Smithsonian Magazine: https://www.smithsonianmag.com/science-nature/air-pollution-goes-back-way-further-you-think-180957716/
National Library of Medicine: https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC8892349/
Thomson Reuters Foundation: https://news.trust.org/item/20160614210856-wiue2/
Cornell Law School Legal Information Institute: https://www.law.cornell.edu/cfr/text/32/989.31#:~:text=The%20Pollution%20Prevention%20Act%20of,to%20all%20pollution%2Dgenerating%20activities
EPA Alumni Association: https://www.epaalumni.org/hcp/toxics.pdf
US Legal: https://environmentallaw.uslegal.com/federal-laws/pollution-prevention-act/
Minnesota Pollution Control Agency: https://www.pca.state.mn.us/air-water-land-climate/air-quality-and-health#:~:text=Exposure%20to%20air%20pollution%20can,cancer%2C%20or%20even%20premature%20death.
National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences: https://www.niehs.nih.gov/health/topics/agents/air-pollution
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