Why Is EPA Important?

Do you know how the EPA, otherwise known as the Environmental Protection Agency, works for you? It affects you on a daily basis but you are probably not aware of the small differences one agency can make. Your vehicle gives off fewer emissions than twenty years ago. There are more recycling programs available and industries are now accountable for their waste byproducts. Even aerosol cans and household pesticides are governed by this agency.

The EPA is not alone in its fight to keep the world a clean place. But it does play an instrumental role in convincing other countries to join in the fight to lower pollution levels and encourage more people to participate in recycling programs in their area. Even the Kyoto Protocol, of which the United States is a part, determines the amount of green house gas emissions that are allowed, thus having an effect on each and every citizen of the world.

Perhaps the greatest contact the American citizen has with the Environmental Protection Agency is the recycling program found in local cities and towns. There are laws governing the illegal dumping of hazardous waste into the environment. They push for corporations and businesses to join a recycling program to benefit the environment and serve as an example, with regard to the serious nature of pollution and overflowing landfills.

The Environmental Protection Agency covers endangered species, as well as air, water, land and hazardous waste pollution. They help to protect the environment in more ways that you could possibly think one agency is capable of doing but they manage to get it done. Without this agency regulating the industry and helping people get into a recycling program, this country would be in an appalling condition.

Visit www.epa.org for more information on how the Environmental Protection Agency works on a daily basis. You can give back to your community and help show others that recycling is not that hard. You can keep landfills free of recyclables and start a grass roots campaign to get more cities on track for recycling. Just doing your part is one small step in keeping more useable garbage out of your local landfill. Consider it your civic duty to help start a recycling program in your area and teaching others that big changes start with the efforts of all concerned. Do your part and you will begin to see others taking those small steps as well.