Washington, D.C., U.S. The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) is an independent executive agency of the United States federal government tasked with environmental protection matters.

The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) was established in December 1970 by the executive order of President Richard Nixon. It is an agency of the United States federal government whose mission is to protect human and environmental health.

Michael S. Regan was sworn in as the 16th Administrator of the United States Environmental Protection Agency on March 11, 2021, becoming the first Black man and second person of color to lead the U.S. EPA.

Administrator Ruckelshaus was confirmed by the Senate on December 2, 1970, which is the traditional date we use as the birth of the agency. Five months earlier, in July 1970, President Nixon had signed Reorganization Plan No. 3 calling for the establishment of EPA in July 1970.

From regulating auto emissions to banning the use of DDT; from cleaning up toxic waste to protecting the ozone layer; from increasing recycling to revitalizing inner-city brownfields, EPA’s achievements have resulted in cleaner air, purer water, and better protected land.

For more than forty-five years the Clean Air Act has cut pollution as the U.S. economy has grown. Clean Air Act programs have lowered levels of six common pollutants — particles, ozone, lead, carbon monoxide, nitrogen dioxide and sulfur dioxide — as well as numerous toxic pollutants.

The Clean Air Act (CAA) is the comprehensive federal law that regulates air emissions from stationary and mobile sources.

In the year 2010, they prevented 160,000 adult mortalities from particle pollution and 230 infants from mortality. For the year 2020, they will prevent 230,000 adults from mortality by particle pollution and 280 infants from mortality. The rates for ozone mortality are also quite impressive.

Primer on the Clean Air Act….At home:

1. Use low watt bulbs or energy-saving lights.
2. Limit the use of air conditioning units and keep the temperature a few degrees higher.
3. Don’t burn garbage.
4. Avoid using aerosols.
5. Properly dispose of refrigerant, refrigeration equipment, and used coolant.

Keep Water Clean

1. Return used motor oil for recycling. Never pour oil onto the street or down a storm drain.
2. Use a commercial car wash.
3. Sweep sidewalks and driveways.
4. Fight mud.
5. Avoid using lawn fertilizers that contain phosphorus.
6. Leave an unmowed buffer next to streams and lakes.
7. Flush responsibly.
8. Use the trash, not the drain.

Reduce the number of trips you take in your car. Reduce or eliminate fireplace and wood stove use. Avoid burning leaves, trash, and other materials. Avoid using gas-powered lawn and garden equipment.

Why Are Air and Water Quality Important to Health? Clean air and water support healthy brain and body function, growth, and development. Air pollutants such as fine particulate matter, ground-level ozone, sulfur oxides, nitrogen oxides, carbon monoxide, and greenhouse gases can harm our health and the environment [1].

Cleaning up our air also yields great savings. For every air pollution standard, the EPA monetizes benefits that come from preventing bad things from happening, such as heart attacks avoided, ER visits avoided, lost work days avoided, and deaths avoided. The benefits are enormous.

How To Reduce Noise Pollution

1. Upgrade Your Insulation.
2. Noise Cancelling Headphones and Earplugs.
3. Turn Off Electrical Appliances.
4. Place Furniture Strategically in Your Property.

Noise pollution can cause health issues such as hearing loss, mental health, increased anxiety and stress, stress-induced issues such as heart diseases. For all the negative impacts that noise pollution can have it’s important that local areas take action to reduce it.