You've been cooped up in your office all day long. Even though you've stocked your workspace with the most eco-friendly furniture possible and purchased reusable, recycled supplies, you still feel out of touch with the natural world. You decide to eat your lunch outside today, in order to feel a little better about your eco-standing.
However, as soon as you step outside your office doors, you are met with a chokingly-thick cloud of particle-filled smoke. That's right - the smoky haze traditionally covering coal-rich areas like China and Japan is now making its way over to the U.S., and environmentalists are suing the Environmental Protection Agency for failing to prevent it.
According to Earthjustice attorney Jennifer Chavez, the EPA has not met deadlines set by the Clean Air Act for controlling smoke and air pollution. The haze is now threatening the beauty of large national parks such as the Grand Canyon, Yellowstone, and the Great Smoky Mountain areas.
The lawsuit was just filed today, so EPA spokesman Nicholas Butterfield was not yet able to comment on its contents. It remains to be seen how the organization will deal with the charges, but part of the plan will be to establish environmental mandates for each state. State governments will be required to submit a plan detailing how they are dealing with the pollution problem, and what they plan to do to stop it.
Hopefully all of this drama will eventually lead to cleaner air for all of us.
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