Responsibility for the Future
...ify areas damaged by hazardous wastes (RCRA). Toxic Substances Act of 1976 was intended to close any loops not covered by previous acts. The Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation and Liability Act of 1980 came into being to cleanup damaged areas (DEQ, 2005). The passage of these types of laws indicates awareness and a willingness of the public to protect the world for themselves and for future generations. I applaud those that took a stand and spent time and money to see these laws passed. I am sure there were many living during this time that could see the destruction that pollutants were having on the air and to the water. It takes a special dedication and zeal to see issues of this magnitude to their end. I feel it is unconscionable to not support the laws. Businesses today are no different than those before the laws came into being. True, it does cost money to do business in an environmentally friendly manner but so does every other aspect of business. If businesses looked at pollution control methods or recycling options as part of operations, similar to labor and materials, then efficiencies would be addressed in the planning stages. To simply say that a company does not have the resources to comply with the law is not acceptable. Those that complain have been in the business long enough to generate revenues to provide themselves a tidy income. It is time to tighten the belt and make a business expense that benefits them and others. Amassing a fortune to leave to ones survivors is a luxury allotted to a few. Having a lot of money will not guarantee the ability to purchase clean air to breathe or water to drink. The best expenditure and most cost effective method is complying and encouraging this type of law today. Another forward thinking concept is product stewardship. Employing a take-back program reduces the amount of waste that is tossed willy-nilly. Again, it boils down to costs. My theory is that if consumers are given a method to dispose of articles at no cost to themselves More waste would be disposed of in an appropriate manner. Businesses have options available in which to pass the waste on. More and more recycling companies are in the marketplace, agencies are willing to recycle-rebuild items for the less fortunate taking usable material out of the waste stream thus protecting a supply of natural resources. Any costs incurred to the business can be passed on to the consumer like other business costs are currently. I believe consumers will continue to purchase items and are willing to pay an up front cost to dispose of the item at the end of its life cycle (Field, 2002). Population along with technology has a large impact on the degradation of the planet. Growing world populations and developing technology have caused ever increasing energy demands. The enormous demands are exhausting the planet’s fossil fuel supplies. Today, non-renewable resources such as coal, petroleum, and natural gas provide more than 85% of the total primary or industrial energy used around the world (Blachford, 2000). Some scientists and environmental action groups predict that these natural resources could be gone within the next 50 years. New ways to augment these resources are hard to find and develop because people remain blind to the dependency on non-renewable resources. Achieving a wider use of renewable sources of energy is a key element of progress towards a sustainable economy and life as it is today. Scientists and engineers have been seeking ways to collect the energy from the sun since 212B.C. Andrew L. Simon, a professor at Purdue University says that the conversion of solar energy to produce electricity has been scarcely tapped. There are recorded studies that show one day of sub on the surface of Lake Erie could be converted to supply the basic energy needs for one year in the United States (Simon, 2001). Expanding on the use of the sun’s energy appears logical as the energy comes to the earth at a constant rate. Also, it is non-polluting and it is free. To maximize the sun’s energy technological difficulties have to be overcome. New design techniques for solar cells or solar converters need to be made before their energy use will be competitive in the current marketplace. Wind energy is derived from the sun. Like the sun, it is available, free, and non-polluting. Europe and Canada are leaders in the field of harnessing the wind. These countries utilize the wind for commercial practices. Having the topography helps. California has a landscape conducive to windmills and uses the wind as an alternative energy resource (Blachford, 2000). Like the production of the sun’s energy, technological difficulties plague the promotion of wind. There are many sources for energy other than fossil fuels. Some have greater potential than others. Geothermal energy is found inside the earth. While it is clean and its energy can be stored making it economical to produce heat the production is not uniform. Methanol is a natural fuel converted from vegetation. It can be stored and transported. Nuclear power is capable of supplying significant amounts of energy (Bergman, Bethe, and Marshall, 197...