Environmental and Labor Regulation

The Industrial Revolution of the nineteenth century brought profound changes to the American landscape. The US population became increasingly urbanized, as workers moved from farm to factory and as immigrants arrived in large numbers. Industry also became more concentrated in urban areas. Capitalists, taking advantage of economies of scale, developed larger enterprises, and the demand for labor and raw materials increased accordingly (Fine, 8).

In the nineteenth century, government generally did not regulate the environmental and labor practices of capitalists. However, as the twentieth century dawned, pressure increased for government to institute reforms in the manufacturing sector. Known today as the Progressives, early reformers brought attention to the plight of urban workers as well as the need to protect the environment from permanent harm (Fine, 13).

Today there is a consensus that environmental and labor regulations are necessary. However, it is important to remember how and why those rules came about when looking at contemporary environmental and labor regulation, because the government is continuing to try to balance the rights of capitalists to pursue profit with citizens' desire for a livable society (Fine, 17).

The federal government, divided into three branches, has pursued reforms in a variety of ways. The legislative branch (Congress) has passed certain laws regulating labor and the en

. . .
Federal agencies, through their rulemaking power, can perform routine inspections of facilities; they can receive and investigate complaints made by workers or members of the public; they can impose fines on offenders; and they can impose liabilities on states (Marcus, 58). Thus rules are created and enforced by the various branches of government. The agencies, with their rulemaking power, can develop very specific regulations in order to perform congressionally mandated missions. A look at a few specific laws and regulatory agencies provides some insight into the mechanics of rulemaking and how environmental and labor laws are enforced. Environment. The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) was founded in 1970, in response to a movement across the developed world through which people became increasingly aware of the damage that over one hundred years of industrialization had done to the environment (Marcus, 189). The EPA was actually created from parts of other government agencies, including the Department of Agriculture, the Food and Drug Administration, and the Department of the Interior. This patchwork is reflected in the myriad laws passed by Congress to establish the EPA's rulemaking authority (Marcus, 201). A good exa
. . .

Some common words found in the essay are:
Department Labor, Industrial Revolution, Air Act, Anti-Trust Act, Standards Act, Conciliation Service, Pollution EPA's, Agency EPA, Department Interior, CERCLA Superfund, environmental labor, clean air, labor laws, clean air act, air act, environmental labor laws, department labor, nineteenth century, fair labor, congress passed, air pollution, environmental protection agency, protection agency, labor legislation congress, fair labor practices,
Approximate Word count = 1422
Approximate Pages = 6 (250 words per page)