The Focus on Air

The world we live in is a major concern for us, obviously. Specifically we often focus on what we are confronted with the most. That is why we return to the topic of air quality so often and why so many people have such strong opinions about what is going wrong and possible solutions to the problems that face us.
The government is also involved with the problem of cleaner air and has been for a while. The Clean Air act was passed in 1967 and "has provided Americans with better air quality and stronger public health protections." It is because of this piece of legislation that many policies are formed. I admittedly do not know much about the air quality laws. However, it is very easy to see the strength of many opinions.
An article can be found here about the possible new air legistations. The author of the article was very strongly opposed to the Clear Skies Act. This act is supposed to improve air quality, however, according to the author those claims are untrue and the legislation will allow more pollution than is now permitted under the Clean Air Act. It is possible that the author is not reading the data correctly or that those promoting the new act are blurring the lines. (Here is an article that discusses how sometimes science and scientists are not as clear-cut as we would hope and expect.)
Reading the aricle was interesting and much more informative since we have discussed the ways that pollution is handled in air sheds and how industries can at times buy or sell the rights to pollute. There are definitly problems that we face as a nation and as a community. The Clean Air Act and the proposed Clean Power Act and Clean Smokestacks Act are some possible ways to help the pollution levels as a nation. However, to me it does not seem like it will mean much to the average person. Through time we, as a people, have become less interested in making up our own minds and much more willing to just be told what to do and how to think. That is what happens when riots start. There are only a few people who have the ideas and they just encourage the group to think the way that they do. To solve the problems that we have as nations and communities we need to start learning and thinking for ourselves and take what we are told with a hefty grain of salt. This article is against the proposed Clear Skies Act, however, it is still just one person's opinion. Until we are able to reach a point of internalizing our problems (as has been discused in other blogs) and encouraging creative problem solving (as was brought up as an example of how industries are able to decrease their pollution levels and then sell the unused portion of what they are alloted) we will essentially be just wandering without direction in a fog of conflict.