Should The United States Regulate Air Pollution?

Air pollution is a combination of gases and chemicals in the air that we breathe. A majority of air pollution is caused by humans through emissions from cars, planes, ships, trucks, power plants, and factories; although some of it may be created by nature in the form of wildfire smoke and volcanic eruptions (education.nationalgeographic.com, 2015). By breathing toxic air, air pollutants are given the chance to travel far into the lungs, resulting in severe damages to the respiratory system. Air pollution is a critical environmental issue that can have fatal health impacts on people of all ages, especially children, in both developed and developing countries. Exposure to air pollutants like ground-level ozone, particulate matter, and polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) can have damaging effects on fetal and early childhood development such
The Act has increased the nation’s air quality by decreasing the levels of many hazardous air pollutants including ground-level ozone and particulate matter (epa.gov, 2015). Furthermore, these improvements have made it possible for states to meet the national standards of air quality (epa.gov, 2015). Although emissions of carbon dioxide have decreased and the United States is making strides in becoming more electric and eco-friendly, air pollution is still a concern in many urban areas (epa.gov, 2015). This is because the government can pass as many laws as it desires but the quality of air will not change if people and corporations do not oblige by them. If the repercussions are lenient or loopholes can be found, corporations will continue to emit these toxic pollutants into the air. Additionally, China’s pollution being carried to the United States does not help matters either, since the U.S. government would not want to affect its already rocky relationship with the Chinese (cnn.com,