Environmental Evolution

      has significantly inclined due to government intervention since the 1970’s. This may be due to the fact that pollution has been on the rise since the turn of the century. Unfortunately the vast industries that seem to run the world have played their role in turning the nvironment upside down. Rather it is the air we breathe, the water we drink, or the food we eat, we are now seeing more contaminates appear from unknown sources. The release of unwanted bi-products has risen from every industry. This is not news to the American public today. Many of these problems have been around for years, and will remain problematic in the future. Kubasek and Silverman give a prime example, “During the late 1960’s a series of events turned public attention toward the deteriorating environment and led to a public demand for action.”  Kubasek and Silverman continue, “In June 1969 the Cuyahoga River near Cleveland caught fire!  Clearly this river was little more than an industrial sewer, with oily waste concentrating sufficiently to turn a major waterway into a fire hazard. Soon thereafter   more than 250 million gallons of crude oil leaked from an oil drilling operation offshore of Santa Barbara, California. The media gave substantial coverage to both events and pictures of dead oil coated waterfowl, sea otters, and other wildlife crowded the front pages of the newspapers.” (237) from the book Environmental Law sixth edition, written by Nancy K Kubasek and Gary S Silverman, Pearson Prentice Hall 2008.

    These events have trademarked the environmental struggle on a worldwide scale. The disastrous rise in pollution from the oil industries alone has been on a rapid incline around the world. It clearly seems that before the 1970’s there were very few environmental laws, which were designed to handle these massive oil spills. Kubasek and Silverman follow up by stating, “One of the most influential bills passed to protect our water was passed by congress in 1972. In response Congress passed the Federal Water Pollution Control Act (FWPCA) of 1972 over the veto of President Nixon.” (237) from the book Environmental Law sixth edition, written by Nancy K Kubasek and Gary S Silverman, Pearson Prentice Hall 2008. Since the 1970’s government intervention has become necessary to ensure that these horrifying events will come to an abrupt end.  With the hopes of restoring the environment and our future, the Federal Government has passed many new amendments since the 1970’s.  Kubasek and Silverman State, “Three subsequent acts made substantial amendments to the FWPCA: The Clean Water Act of 1977 (CWA); The Water Quality Act of 1987 (WQA); The Oil Pollution Act of 1990.” (237) from the book Environmental Law sixth edition, written by Nancy K Kubasek and Gary S Silverman, Pearson Prentice Hall 2008. The struggle to end pollution is no longer without the muscle to back up these new policies. The fact is the environmental conditions have dramatically become much worse over the years, so naturally these policies have to measure up to the conditions that are now without resolve.