An ecological footprint measures the amount of biologically productive land and water needed to meet the demands of a population and helps determine whether a particular populace is living within the biological capacity of the land that sustains it. A carbon footprint on the other hand is the total amount of greenhouse gases emanated by each person or a population. Carbon footprint is a subset of ecological footprint. The greater the carbon footprint greater is the strain on the ecology and the larger is the ecological footprint.
The US Environmental Protection Agency allows US companies to export pesticides that have been banned or restricted within the country. This measure is by far the most unethical practice of the US government that seeks to maximize profits at the expense of the poor developing countries. The banned pesticides have resulted in the sickness and deaths of thousands of Third World people because their government’s tax laws allow the continued usage. However, pesticides used in the Third World enter back into the US food chain as the agricultural products of the developing world enter US markets as imports. Thus the US authorities must ban such a practice.
The EPA risk assessment falls under two main categories; Human Health and Ecological. For both the categories, the EPA uses a four-step methodology namely, Hazard Identification, Dose-Response Assessment, Exposure Assessment, and Risk Characterization. In the Hazard identification step, the EPA examines whether the substance has the potential to pose risk to human or ecological health and if so then under what circumstances. In the next step, having determined the feasibility of the risk, the EPA determines the quantum of exposure and its likely toxic effect. After this, the EPA arrives at the assessment of how long people or the environment have been exposed to the dangerous elements which then leads to the final determination as to how much extra risk is possible for the populations who have been exposed to the danger.
Since the Second World War, owning a house and two cars in the suburbs has been defined as an American Dream which has been helped by several federal and state laws that encouraged subsidies for the housing sector, the GI Bill, road building projects, strip malls, shopping malls and food chains which have led to the shrinkage of agricultural lands and expansion of the suburbs. Government-sponsored entities such as Fannie Mae, Freddie Mac, and Ginnie Mae gave away millions of dollars in cheap housing loans that encouraged the sprawl explosion. Federal tax laws allow homeowners to deduct the interest on mortgages thus encouraging them to buy more homes. The highway act of 1956, ensured that road connectivity improved, which in turn made it easier for suburbs to develop.
The Clean Air Act and the Clean Water Act are two important acts enacted by the government which are monitored by the EPA that ensure that industries, state, and local authorities adhere to the anti-pollution norms. In addition, the Atomic Energy Act ensures that atomic materials are strictly regulated. The Energy Policy Act covers all aspects of energy harnessing in the US and gives tax incentives to clean energy initiatives such as geothermal energy and hydropower. Some acts cover, marine pollution, use of insecticides, nuclear waste disposal, oil pollution, food, drug and cosmetics, and other wide-ranging acts that touch every aspect of ecology to help clear the mess that has been created.