Study: Environmental Policies Matter for Growing Megacities
April 4, 2013
In the 1970’s, the U.S. was facing a dramatic growth in GDP (Gross Domestic product), urban population increases and a staggering number of vehicles on highways. This growth brought with it pollution that strained the environment’s fragile ecosystems and the health of the population. The U.S., however, faced the problem and decreased the impact of vehicle emissions in their cities with the Clean Air Act. It requires catalytic converters that reduce tailpipe emissions to be on all vehicles, cars, trucks and buses. In the 1990’s the Clean Air Act was taken further by addressing nitrate and sulfate rain, components of acid rain. Over the past 30 years, since the U.S. Clean Air Act, regulations have dramatically reduced acid rain in the U.S., Europe, Japan and South Korea. In contrast, megacities like those in fast- growing East Asia that have no regulation, lax antipollution rules and lack of enforcement, show a dramatic rise in acid rain. The effects of this acid rain will continue to pollute lakes, rivers, soils and wetlands in these unregulated megacities if something is not done.
Models have been studied to measure the differences in a
regulated megacity and one that is not regulated. As Rao stated, “Our analysis of wet
deposition (acid rain) data provides compelling evidence that clean-air
policies and enforcement of environmental regulations are profoundly important.
Researchers now monitor sites in the U.S. and in Asian cities to collect
informative data to measure products of fossil fuel combustion, the nitrates
and sulfate emitted by our cars, trucks and buses.
Megacities, like East Asia are dealing with the effects of
rapid urban development, increasing emissions from vehicles and acid rain, just
like the U.S. was dealing with in the 1970’s with it mass industrialization.
Beijing and New Delhi, the emerging industrial megacities will have to address
its rapid expansion in the near future that will increase the level of
pollution and impact on the environment. Focus will eventually be on
Sub-Saharan Africa where industrialization will reach its cities and where
increasing economic development will be.
The negative impact of megacities on the environment is directly related to the regulatory controls that are in place to lessen the effects of our growing population and urbanization. The earth’s megacities, created from rapid mass industrialization continue to have staggering environmental impact on the planet’s ecological health. Modern Industrialized Nations, like the U.S. create mass pollution and must be proactive in solving environmental problems created from industry. What matters is the regulation of industry, enforcement of these regulations and finding engineering solutions for all the problems that come with rapid industrialization. The Emerging Industrialized nations will then be able to cope with the environmental problems that develop with megacities.
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