Read on to know the truth. However, two significant trends originating in the recent years are beginning to tell the tale – Globalization of environmental protection and new enactments to curb pollution.
Globalization Of Environmental Protection
Pollution in the air, soil and water has become the largest cause of death in the world, according to the World Health Organization (WHO), but a new report has changed the picture substantially, where the following countries have reportedly taken steps in terms of reducing the contamination.
The Report compiled by several nonprofits that include the New York non-profit group Pure Earth, Global Alliance for Health and Pollution and the Swiss group known as Green Cross Switzerland primarily focuses on the limited, yet growing success achieved by 10 countries as will be evident now.
- Kyrgyzstan— Ingeniously designed Water filters have reduced pollution originating from 24 abandoned uranium mines linked to high levels of lung cancer.
- Former Soviet Union— Destroyed thousands of tons of old but toxic pesticides.
- Ghana— Agbogbloshie area of Accra is using mechanical stripping method to recover copper wiring from used electronics, instead of burning the plastic off.
- Senegal— Thiaroye Sur-Mer, a polluted lead battery recycling area, is switching to hydroponic gardening.
- Vietnam— Dong Mai villagers relocated a lead battery recycling operation area away from the village.
- Philippines—In the Marilao, Meycauayan and Obando,river aquaculture are being developed with zeolite and probiotic filtering systems.
- Indonesia– Cinangka’s lead laden soil has been removed from a soccer field, thus making it safe from lead poisoning.
- Peru— the country has developed new soil pollution laws and remediation timelines.”
- Uruguay— Montevideo has reclaimed neighborhoods by cleaning up electronic waste toxic hot spots.
- Mexico—Mexico City turned a contaminated oil refinery into an urban park, thus limiting pollution to a great extent.
Enactments To Curb Pollution
Even though pollution can never be controlled by creating laws, enactments, nevertheless gives a firmer hand to the police and other law enforcing authorities to oversee if the laws are breached and contamination is created.
However, every country has relevant laws such as:
- Air Pollution Laws – Industrial air pollution control laws
- Water Pollution Laws– Laws relating to release of pollutants in water bodies.
- Waste management Laws– Apart from solid waste and liquid waste, waste management laws also cover chemical waste, industrial effluents as also electronic waste that requires specialized enactments. Waste Management laws laws also control the transport, treatment, storage, and disposal of all manner of waste, including municipal solid waste, hazardous waste, and nuclear waste, among many other types. Waste Management Laws are mostly designed to minimize and/or eliminate the uncontrolled dispersal of waste materials into the environment in a manner that may cause ecological or biological imbalance or harm, and include laws designed to reduce the generation of waste and promote or mandate waste recycling. Regulatory efforts include identifying and categorizing waste types and mandating transport, treatment, storage, and disposal practices.
- Plastic Pollution control Laws – In the United States, members from Frank G. Wells Environmental Law Clinic at UCLA and ocean conservation group Surfrider Foundation expressly recommended that the congress should craft federal legislation banning single-use plastic products that include carry bags, drinking straws, as also expanded polystyrene foam food containers. They also called for establishing ‘extended producer responsibility’ schemes that will hold plastic manufacturers responsible for the waste they might create.
- Environmental Cleanup Laws – control the removal of pollutionor polluting agents from environment, that include soil, sediment, surface water, and/or ground water. As against pollution control laws, cleanup laws are designed to take up issues that follow environmental contamination, and consequently must often define not only the necessary response actions, but also the parties who may be responsible for undertaking (or paying for) such actions. Regulatory requirements may include rules for emergency response, liability allocation, site assessment, remedial investigation, feasibility studies, remedial action, post-remedial monitoring, and site reuse.
