The United States Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) was established in July 1970 when the White House and the United States Congress came together due to the public's demand for cleaner natural resources. The purpose of the EPA is to repair the damage done to the environment and to set up new criteria to allow Americans to make a clean environment a reality. The ultimate goal of the EPA is to protect human health and the environment.
Since the 1980s sustainability has become a term used in reference to environmental and human issues. Sustainability is typically defined as, the ability of current generations to meet their own needs without compromising the needs of future generations. This concept has recently been adopted by the EPA as they have dedicated an entire sector solely to sustainability. Environmental, social, and economic demands are the main components that stand behind the concept of sustainability.
As previously mentioned, the EPA has taken the initiative to establish a sector dedicated to promoting and practicing sustainability. This sector has been broken down into four broad categories: Urban Sustainability and the Built Environment; Water and Ecosystem Services; Energy, Biofuels, and Climate Change; and Material Management and Human Health.
Urban sustainability and the built environment
With almost 80% of all US residents inhabiting urban areas and a constant increase in urban growth, the EPA has worked with many types of council to create a sector based solely on urban sustainability and the built environment. Changing how and where urban development takes place can greatly affect habitat protection, water resources, energy consumption, the quality and services provided by an ecosystem, and indoor and outdoor air quality. With recent findings showing more than 40% of energy consumption comes from buildings, the National Science and Technology Council (NSTC) published a report with an extensive agenda for research and development to reduce the consumption of natural resources, improve indoor environments and reduce emissions of harmful pollutants. With this, the EPA has created programs and resources to help states and their communities with promoting urban sustainability and supporting smart growth projects, green infrastructure and building design, energy efficient homes and commercial buildings, as well as helping to support the development of sustainability metrics for urban development.
Policies and programs
The EPA has created over 25 policies and programs to help with urban sustainability, ranging from "Building America" which works with the residential building industry to develop and implement building processes that save builders and homeowners millions; to "Smart Growth and Schools" which gives information on the principals of smart growth to plan educational facilities; to "Watershed" which shows how using a watershed approach can help to protect our water resources. One of the more successful programs the EPA utilizes is the "Green Building" program. Green Building is the practice of building structures and using methods that are environmentally responsible and resource-efficient. Many aspects go into Green Building such as the design, construction, operation, maintenance, renovation and deconstruction. This program helps to bring awareness to Green Building and create healthier, more resource-efficient aspects of construction.
Research, tools and technology
The sustainability sector of the EPA has helped with research, tools and technology of the built environment in many ways. One of the many tools they have helped to create is the Tools of Watershed Protection in Developing Areas. This program is an approach that uses eight tools that can be used to protect or restore water resources in an urbanized or developing watershed. The eight tools outlined in the watershed protection approach are land use planning, land conservation, aquatic buffers, better site design, erosion and sediment control, storm water best management practices, non-storm water discharges, and watershed stewardship programs. The watershed protection approach brings up key choices that a watershed manager should think about when using the eight tools as well as describing in great detail the purpose of the tools and outlining specific methods of how to utilize them.