EPA Water Pollution Proposition
Picture: This is a picture taken of water that has been polluted, probably by some type of power plant the releases its waste into bodies of water. There are ways that this water can get into drinking water and affect people everyday. The pollution in water can also lead to injuries or death in the surrounding animal and plant populations.
Summary: The EPA recently proposed some new regulations that could lead to cleaner water in many areas. The regulations are directed towards bodies of water near things like nuclear plants or factories powered by fossil fuels. A lot of these places release chemicals such as mercury, arsenic, and lead. These chemicals can sometimes make their way into our drinking water neurological and circulatory damage or even things such as cancer and kidney problems. People receive these effects simply by drinking a cup of water that has been contaminated by a plant or factory. The EPA's regulations will force places like these to install pollution control technology and implement waste-treatment procedures by 2017-2022. Although this may take a long time to do, it should have an overall positive effect on the water that is affected by the pollutants surrounding these areas. It is proposed to cut down pollution discharges by 470 million pounds. These regulations by the EPA can really positively affect the quality of our water and save the lives of many people.
Opinion/Reflection: The Regulations the the EPA is trying to enforce seem like a really good idea. I had no idea that some people could get really sick and have a lot of problems just because they drink their own tap water. Although it wasn't mentioned in this article, I believe that these regulations could help a lot of the surrounding organisms that live near these bodies of water. It seems that there aren't any negative effects that these rules will cause. 470 million pounds of pollution a year seems like an astronomical amount that would be awesome to get out of our water supplies. With a number like that, I couldn't see any reason that there would be an opposition to these ideas proposed by the EPA. Even though, it may not directly affect me, I think that the proposition sounds like an extremely good idea and power plants or factories should implement these rules immediately.
Questions:
1. What other organizations are doing something to stop these pollution problems?
2. Why haven't many Americans heard of this problem yet? Have you heard about the diseases caused by pollutants in the water before reading this?
3. Do you think that animals and plants in the areas surrounding polluted bodies of water are being affected by this?
Article Information:
Title: EPA proposes water pollution rules for power plants
Author: Zack Colman
Published on 4/19/13
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fxZ4IMpM45Y
ReplyDeleteThis is a youtube link showing the effects of water pollution in Ireland. Usually, when people speak of pollution and impure water, they think of India or China Rather than a European country. The video shows a man describing the problems that Ireland's water is facing, and eventually, a member of the Irish EPA comes in and speaks. The video is full of information, interviews, and reports.
I think it's a good thing that the pollution caused by power plants is being addressed. Hopefully, with these measures, the contamination in drinking water will show a marked decrease, which would undoubtably be beneficial for the people who get their water from those sources, as well as wildlife living near the areas affected. By gradually phasing into the change, it is likely that problems caused by overly rapid alterations will be avoided, while still reaching the eventual goal of drastically reducing water pollution, as well as spreading whatever costs that may be incurred over a longer span of time, which would alleviate more of the financial strain of making the newly-required modifications (many of which are likely to be nearly costless, as they can be used with the technology already in place).
ReplyDeleteQuestions:
1. Are similar laws being put into place for other countries? If so, where, and how are they similar or different?
2. What are reasons such propositions would be opposed? Are there any short- or long-term downsides to the new regulations, whether they are economic, environmental, or otherwise in nature?
3. What other sources of pollution are currently being overlooked? What are some ways to reduce those sources?
2. Why haven't many Americans heard of this problem yet? Have you heard about the diseases caused by the pollutants before you read this?
ReplyDeleteI have never heard about power plant pollutants contaminating water sources, and I believe the reason many Americans have not heard of this problem is because they are more concerned with other issues, such as gun control, and, from what I can tell, this issue does not affect many Americans.
3. Do you think that plants an animals in areas surrounding polluted bodies of water are being affected by this?
Yes, the polluted water will get to plants and could cause mutations in the offspring. Animals would be affected by either drinking the contaminated water from the source or by consuming another plant or animal that had the pollutants in its system.
I decided to email the official administrators from the EPA website because they are the official experts on the topic. I also chose to email them because they are constantly updating their website with new information, which shows that they are always on top of things and ready to spread information. Lastly, I chose to email the official administrators because they write articles on everything having to do with water and its contamination, including hydraulic fracturing and water pollution by factories. Below is a copy of the email I sent them:
ReplyDeleteHi! My name is Jaimee Stoczko, and I am apart of a student-run website over on Blogspot that talks about all things environmental and water-related. A fellow student of mine recently posted about water pollution, and we would be honored if one of you would take a moment to read over what he wrote and maybe even leave a comment with your opinion and any corrections to what he said. It would mean a lot to us! Here's the link: http://grass-heads.blogspot.com/2013/04/blog-post-8-ian-oshea.html
Thanks again!
Jaimee