Over the past several years, the "Go Green" revolution has been striking the United States. It has been everywhere from grocery stores, to tee shirts and even the legislative branch of the government. Recently, San Francisco even outlawed the use of disposable plastic bags and requires consumers to bring their own reusable bags to the check out counter to carry home their goods. So what has been done to help make these little things a big difference? The Environmental Protection Agency was one of the most important accomplishments towards protecting our ecological environment.

As early as 1970, people were recognizing that the human race was having a detrimental impact on planet Earth. In order to answer the people's questions about how the legislature could help protect the ecosystem, Congress and the White House formed the EPA in July of that same year ("About EPA" 3). Just a few short months later, the EPA was established in Washington D.C. and began official work on December 2, 1970 ("History" 1). Ever since the EPA opened up, it has had the mission "to protect human health and the environment" ("About EPA" 1). Before the EPA was established, there wasn't an effective system in place to address the issues that were directly related with human health, the biosphere and how they are interrelated ("History" 1.)

Ever since the industrial revolution, air pollution has become a serious issue to both the environment and human health. In fact, it is approximated that "3 million people die each year from the effects of air pollutants" (Mongillo 5:1). Asthma is one of the most common childhood illnesses in the United States, and tends to be more of an issue for children and adults in urban areas. This is due to the large quantities of air pollutants emitted daily. In order to try to help save both the planet and its occupants' wellbeing, the EPA amended the Clean Air Act (CAA) to include "air quality, auto emission, and anti-pollution standards" ("Earth Day" 1). Furthermore, in 1990 the EPA made more amendments to the CAA which required states to take on personal accountability for the improvement of their state's air quality ("Earth Day" 4). The EPA didn't stop there. In 1994 they reduced toxic air pollution emitted from chemical plants to "the equivalent of taking 38 million vehicles off the road annually" ("Earth Day" 5). In 1997 the EPA addressed the issue of smog and soot. This was especially detrimental in urban areas. 125 million people in the United States benefited from this particular act by the EPA ("Earth Day" 6). In the new millennium, America continued to see change that would benefit the air. Based on the Clean School Bus USA program, by the year 2013 more than 200,000 pounds of pollution will have been removed from the air simply by modifying the busses used by the public school system ("Earth Day" 7).

Unfortunately, the air is not the only polluted part of the United States. Water pollution is a big issue, for both humans and animals alike. Even abiotic factors are desecrated by one form of water pollution known as acid precipitation. Normal, healthy rainfall contains carbonic acid (H₂CO₃) which naturally makes it slightly acidic at a pH of about 5.6 The EPA reports that the eastern United State's rainfall has about 4.5 for a mean pH (Mongillo 5:21). In my own personal research I have learned that there are many things that acid precipitation does to the environment. When acid rain falls and hits the streams and other freshwater sources, it adversely affects the pH of the water environments for marine life. This change can cause entire populations to go into shock and die, unfavorably affecting both the species and the entire food web. Aside from this biological issue pertaining to acid rain, even art and buildings can be destroyed by it. I once saw a photograph of a beautiful statue of an angel in a London cemetery taken in the late nineteenth century. Today, the face of this seraph cannot be distinguished from its body because of the erosion caused by the acid rain. Water makes up more than 70% of the planet, and as such, needs to be protected (Mongillo 5:36). In response to this, congress passed the Clean Water Act (CWA) because of encouragement from the EPA. This act limited the amount of raw sewage, chemicals, and other pollutants into water sources such as lakes and rivers. Because of this reform, now 60% of America's freshwater sources are safe for recreational purposes, as opposed to the 36% available before the CWA ("Earth Day" 2).

Although much progress has been made thanks to educating the general public as to what effect their actions have on the environment, we are currently facing a very serious crisis of climate change due to global warming. One major contributing factor to global warming is ozone depletion. There are many chemicals that are causing this destruction, but the most famous would be chlorofluorocarbons (CFCs) which are commonly found in aerosol cans (Mongillo 5:19). One of the effects of ozone depletion is removal of Earth's natural sunscreen. The ozone layer protects the planet from UVA and UVB rays, both of which are harmful to human skin and potentially carcinogenic. This also allows more heat to enter the atmosphere. This problem is even more of an issue because of the greenhouse effect. Greenhouse gasses are produced by "human activities such as the burning of fossil fuels" (Mongillo 5:26). When these gasses are produced, it creates an insulator which doesn't allow the heat to exit the atmosphere as it is supposed to. Small actions by individuals, such as changing to compact fluorescent light bulbs from the traditional luminescent bulb will help to reduce the amounts of greenhouse gasses produced and lower their household energy bill. The EPA is working towards raising awareness about the carbon footprint that America is leaving behind. Legislation pertaining to climate change is being worked on currently and is being endorsed by the EPA. Another great program that the EPA has established is the Superfund, which addresses "abandoned hazardous waste sites" which continue to appear due to the actions of our forefathers ("Basic Information"1). This program will continue to benefit the nation until there is no more distress on the ecology of America. Some people speculate that in the future, the Superfund will be used towards repairing damage caused by the global warming issue.

The EPA has been serving the United State's people for almost 38 years. In this time frame, it has pushed the nation leaps and bounds from where we were. There have been many acts, such as the CAA and CWA which have been beneficial to both human health and wildlife which were only instated because the EPA was encouraging them to be. There are still environmental issues that need to be dealt with, like global warming and continued pollution problems that are watched by the EPA to ensure that damage is not continued and restoration can occur. As new issues we have not even heard of start to arise, the EPA will be sure to help educate the public and help prevent further damage. The Environmental Protection Agency has completely lived up to its name. The public can rest assured that the EPA will continue to help wherever it is needed and keep its mission to protect the environment and human health.

Works Cited

"About EPA". 22 April 2008. Environmental Protection Agency. 7 May 2008. <

http://www.epa.gov/epahome/aboutepa.htm#history >

"Basic Information." 21 September 2007. Environmental Protection Agency. 6 May

2008. < http://epa.gov/superfund/about.htm >

"Earth Day". 22 April 2008. Environmental Protection Agency. 6 May 2008. <

http:www.epa.gov/earthday/history.html >

"History." 7 December 2007. Environmental Protection Agency. 6 May 2008. <

http://www.epa.gov/history/ >

Mongillo, John. Human Impact on the Environment. 5 Volumes. Westport, Connecticut:

Greenwood Press, 2004.