"When we try to pick out anything by itself, we find it hitched to everything else in the universe ."
-John Muir
Founder,
Sierra Club
Environmental Librarian
Current Environmental Issues
The United States Environmental Protection Agency will be a leader in national and international environmental development in the new century. I will now present some of the major issues that concern the EPA. For a comprehensive discussion of these issues, refer to the EPA 1998 Annual Report "Reinventing Environmental Protection" at the Publications site. Also, refer to the Glossary of Environmental Terms for assistance.
POLLUTION PREVENTION
The trend in recent years is toward preventing, and not just treating, pollution. Many activities and programs strive to limit discharges into the environment.
The Pollution Prevention Act of 1990 approached the problem by encouraging manufacturers to redesign their environmental programs. Today, the EPA has many programs to promote pollution prevention. For a complete overview of the programs, you can access the
Office of Pollution Prevention and Toxics. You will find a discussion of current policy, resources and other information.
I have divided this topic into a few important areas-air and radiation, surface and ground water, pesticides and waste management-in order to assist you in understanding how pollution prevention applies to all these aspects of the environment.
Air and Radiation
Outdoor air quality is affected by many activities, both human and industrial and affects the quality of life of all land creatures. The mission of the EPA is to regulate emissions of discharges into the air. The Clean Air Act (CAA) of 1970 was a landmark in this crusade and laid the groundwork for future policies and regulations
