The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency hasn’t always been brave enough to stand up for public health and the natural environment. But earlier this year, the EPA took a bold step to protect the American public and fragile ecosystems from ozone-air pollution.

So what happened? The federal agency proposed a new science-based nationwide air-quality standard for smog.

This may seem unsurprising, but the EPA in the past has actually refrained from using scientists’ recommendations to determine these standards. In March of 2008, during the Bush administration, EPA Administrator Stephen Johnson completed a national standard for ozone that strayed from findings by the agency’s Clean Air Scientific Advisory Committee for protecting national health and natural systems. The committee unanimously advised Johnson about the health standard, which he ignored. Additionally, the committee advised that a distinct biologically relevant ozone standard was needed to protect natural systems. That too was dismissed.

Smog forms from a photochemical reaction when nitrogen oxides and volatile organic compounds mix in the presence of sunlight. Ground-level ozone has been shown to cause serious respiratory illnesses in children and elderly people. Ozone pollution can negatively impact the forests, plants and agriculture.

In 1997, some Republicans threatened that higher ozone standards implemented by the EPA at that time would harm American jobs and economic growth. The EPA administrator at that time, Carol Browner, had strengthened particulate-matter and ozone-health standards. The Environmental Defense Fund recently noted how Congressman Fred Upton said back then: The new standards “will wreak havoc on economic growth, jobs and even personal lifestyles.” In a press release commending EPA’s new standards, the Fund also noted how back in 1997, Sen. Spencer Abraham said, “Dry cleaning establishments, hair salons and other small businesses will not be able to absorb the increased costs imposed by these regulations.”

However, now we know that clean-energy development can create a sizable green workforce. And improved air standards inspire new research, which produces innovative technology to meet new standards and new jobs to implement the technology. Federal economic stimulus money has been poured into programs that support the development of green-collar jobs. Within this context, we see the importance of renewable forms of energy that don’t pollute the air or contribute to global warming. Fossil fuels, on the other hand-from cars, coal-fired power plants, industrial manufacturing plants and more-produce nitrogen oxide, which creates smog.

Solar and wind power are two critical forms of renewable energy. Solar power turns the sun’s rays into electricity and heat. It’s an ancient method and one that saw a boost during the 1970s oil crisis and continues to gain in popularity today. Wind turbines convert the wind’s kinetic energy into mechanical power that can be used to generate electricity to power businesses, schools, houses and other buildings.

EPA will finalize the standards this summer, as the American public increasingly recognizes the importance of renewable energy in protecting human health and the environment. As stated by Cal Baier-Anderson, a toxicologist with the Environmental Defense Fund, in a press release: “EPA’s proposed standards promise clean air protections that reach from the nation’s urban neighborhoods and communities to our rural forests and croplands. Children are especially vulnerable to ozone air pollution. For millions of children, high pollution days make it difficult to attend school, to play outside and to simply breathe.”

And what about that 1997 standard? Well, according to the Environmental Defense Fund, the improved protections led to 58 million people realizing the benefits of clean air.

Sena Christian is an environmental reporter. She blogs for http://www.ptlexamprep.com and http://www.greenprofessional.net.

Author: Sena Christian
Article Source: EzineArticles.com
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