Nowadays, a rapidly growing human population is one of the most serious threats to the world’s environment. Knoxville, Tennessee is experiencing this problem right now. The City Council worries that population growth may create a number of negative environmental, social, and economic outcomes like infrastructure deterioration or air and water quality decline. Statistics shows that, in 2010, the population was about 179,000 people, and, in 2013, it reaches the mark of 183,270 people (United States Census Bureau, 2014). It is necessary to address some pollution management issues and think about the measures to reduce pollution rates and help people survive any kind of environmental problems.
In case the City Council offers financial support in about $20 million, it is possible to create an appropriate solution for Knoxville and improve the rapid population growth problems. The following measures are chosen: pollution control legislation of point sources ($3mln), encouragement of alternative transportation, walking and bicycle use ($5mln), promotion of fuel-efficient cars ($7mln), and establishment of green spaces or some urban forestry ($5mln).
Knoxville has one of the best employment forecasts in the USA. It has powerful transportation facilities and low cost of living. Unfortunately, it makes this city taking the leading positions in the “dirty” list (Flory, 2011). Pollution control legislation for point sources can help to maintain appropriate environmental conditions, reduce carbon emission, and avoid the degradation of ecosystems. A legislative framework proves that all pollution control should be dependent upon some engineering and technological facilities. Legislation should work on the two main principles – pollution prevention (to reduce the number of polluting products) and pollution control principles’ integration (to create a team that analyzes pollution impacts). A new pollution control law should provide the society with a kind of environmental duty, civil law enforcement, and penalties for environmental offenses. People should be aware of their responsibilities. Though many technological organizations may be not satisfied with the necessity to install expensive devices, they should take a risk to avoid possible expenses in the future because of penalties.
Encouragement of alternative transportation, walking, and bicycle can help to reduce air pollution rates considerably. Employees should have a good stimulus to go to work walking or bicycling. It may be achieved by the creation of beautiful roads, walking through which may influence workers’ mood and behavior, the access to additional vocation days, and cash rewards. Some organizations may refuse the idea to spend more money on their workers; still, legal penalties may be used to make the employers try.
The promotion of fuel-efficient cars is another measure that can be taken in Knoxville. The need of appropriate organizations specialized in creating such cars can make many stakeholders invest their money into new attractive ideas and help other organizations find alternative transportation means. It is possible to create special public fuel-efficient buses and offer employees some discounts.
Finally, the establishment of special green spaces and urban forestry is a good idea to reduce carbon emission and show the society the beauty of the environment they get a chance to live in. People should have an access to clean and specially-organized places for resting. The implementation of certain behavioral rules and norms is necessary. 24/7 security will gain control over such territories and take responsibilities for all possible violations. Such people should be properly prepared for their work. The City Council should encourage a good educational program where environmental issues, psychological approaches, and management details will be discussed. To achieve this, it is necessary to find out trade-offs with the already developed educational system and offer them a new effective idea for development and promotion of ecosystem health.
Considering the above-mentioned measures and their impacts on the environment, the idea of the statement about the balance between the effectiveness of environmental measures and the public reaction towards them becomes clear. It is wrong and useless to improve the environment without an appropriate public support. The way of how people react on the measures defines the quality of all innovations. People have to comprehend their roles in the city they live and understand that their awareness or, vice versa, a kind of apathy will influence their future and the future of their children. So, the balance between measure and reactions should be kept.
Reference List
Flory, J. (2011). Air pollution lands Knoxville on “dirty” list. Knoxville News Sentinel. Web.
United States Census Bureau. (2014). State & Country QuickFacts: Knoxville, Tennessee. Web.