The EPA: Can It & Will It Save Our Environment? .
Pollution of our environment is an issue that concerns nearly each and every one .
of us. The threat of environmental degradation now looms greater than the threat of .
nuclear war in the middle-east. Patrick Henry once said, "I know no way of judging the .
future but by the past. In the past man has trampled on the environment. And now, .
someone needs to stop this terrible act." The word "ecology" is defined as "a study of .
home." It means "discovering what damage man has done, then finding a way to fix it.".
The Environmental Protection Agency is trying to fix our home, which is the .
planet Earth. Destruction of forests, land degradation, atmosperic contamination, and .
dried up watersheds are some of the major environmental problems facing the EPA. .
In 1970, the EPA was created by President Nixon to protect the public health and .
environment. The cancer-causing DDT was banned in 1972 and was found accumulating .
in the food chain of various species. The use of lead in gasoline was phased out in 1973, .
which caused lead levels to drop nearly 98%. In 1974 the agency required drinking water .
to be physically and chemically treated. CFCs were banned in 1978 and a nation-wide .
toxic waste site cleanup program was developed in 1980. The EPA then evacuated Times .
Beach, Montana for dangerous levels of dioxin in the soil. It was then criticized for its .
"heavyhandedness" and "arrogance" while it was in the process of doing this.
Charges of mismanagement and bad political influences caused the president .
of the EPA to resign in 1983. It was reported that the deputy director resigned after being .
charged with having a "hit list" of employees to be hired, fired, and/or promoted because .
of their political leanings. The former head of the toxic waste cleanup committee was .
found guilty of perjury and obstructing congressional inquiry. .
A regulation requiring treatment of hazardous wastes before disposal underground .
