April Reese

The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), an arm of the federal government, regulates air pollution under the Clean Air Act. In the following viewpoint, April Reese argues that although air quality has improved somewhat in recent decades as a result of government controls, pollution remains a serious problem that requires stricter regulation by the EPA. Air pollution endangers human health, reduces visibility, harms soil, and damages both wild habitat and city environments. The American public, she asserts, supports stricter air quality standards. Reese, a graduate student at the Yale School of Forestry and Environmental Studies, writes for E Magazine, an environmentalist publication.

As you read, consider the following questions:

1. What six pollutants were targeted for reduction by the EPA"
2. How does Reese respond to the argument that environmental regulations are too costly"
3. What...