Kristin James Markie Daigle

 C.A.A. stands for clean air act, and it is the federal law that every American will have safe air to breathe. The original clean air act was first passed in 1963, but it wasn’t until 1970 when congress created EPA (the environmental protection agency) that there was a real federal response to the clean air act. Since 1970, EPA has created a multitude of Clean Air Act programs to help eliminate air pollution throughout the country.

Smog was beginning to slowly creep over the country, and all the pollution was actually killing Americans. One incident in Donora, Pennsylvania during the 1940’s actually killed 20 people during a smog that lasted five days, and made 6,000 out 14,000 people sick. Incidents like these kept happening all over America and in other countries, and we new it was time to make a change.

EPA’s Role: The EPA’s role in the C.A.A. is to protect our health, air, and environment. To do this, the EPA sets limits on how much pollutants can be in the air anywhere in America. They also have the right to put limits on power plants, steel mills, and chemical plants. If a state’s plans for reducing air pollution doesn’t meet standards, the EPA has the right to take over and enforce the clean air act in that area. The EPA provides funding for the clean air act.

 Yes! Not only is the air safer to breathe and smog reduced. In fact, toxic lead levels have dropped 98 percent, and sulfur dioxide has dropped by 35 percent. There are more cars than ever before on the roads today, yet carbon monoxide levels have dropped by 32 percent. To top it off, public health has increased since the Clean Air Act was established, and it is also cost effective.

Is the C.A.A. effective? As shown in the diagram and table, the Clean Air Act hasn’t just been reducing smog and increasing visibility, but it has also been cost effective.

Alternative energy sources Because of the pollutants caused by power plants, steel mills, and chemical plants, there are less of them used. Instead there are alternatives such as wind mills, and dams.

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