In California, USA attempts to reduce the amount of air pollution were started in the ‘80’s by creating incentives for automotive manufacturers. Article can be found here: http://personal.colby.edu/personal/t/thtieten/air-cal.html. The article gives a thorough description of the government attempts to develop Zero Emissions Vehicles (ZEVs) in order to dramatically improve the air quality in California. While ZEVs are now available for consumer use, the costs to first purchase and then maintain are very high due to new technologies used in the batteries. The tax incentives available for both the automotive manufacturers who make ZEVs and the few consumers able to afford them are minute. This article relates to both the downsides of development as well as sustainable development. The vehicles needed to be produced because there was and still is a substantially high amount of air pollution in California. In order for Californians to sustain stable living conditions for not only themselves, but also plants and animals this development is a good beginning.

Plastic bag impact in Ireland leads to a Plastic Bag Environmental Levy on all plastic bags http://personal.colby.edu/personal/t/thtieten/litter.html. Due to the lack of landfill sites, illegal dumping and litter became more prevalent in Ireland. The Irish Government developed a Levy limiting the amount of plastic bags a consumer could get with their groceries or clothing while shopping. This development is an example of sustainable development; plastic bags made up 99.5% of garbage in their landfills or litter so in order to reduce the amount of littered plastic, they banned the use of plastic bags with exception of use for specific grocery items. The affect of these bags on the physical appearance of the country was not desired, but it more importantly affects the surrounding plants and wildlife.

Both of these developments relate directly to my hometown of Rochester, PA. Rochester being a suburb of Pittsburgh was impacted by the amount of pollution being produced by the surrounding steel mills. Laws were put in place requiring vehicles to pass not only vehicle inspection, but also an emissions test. Unlike in California however, there have not been tax incentives for the automotive manufacturers to produce these low emissions vehicles. In order to sustain suitable living conditions however, cars still need to meet a standard. With most of the mills closed, air pollution is not what it once was in Pittsburgh and the surrounding towns like Rochester, but all vehicles must still pass inspection proving this to be a beneficial sustainable development. Also relating to Rochester is Ireland’s Plastic Bag Environmental Levy. Though a much smaller scale, Rochester has made readily available plastic bag recycling deposits available for those in the community at the local grocery stores. This is not quite as large as the ban that Ireland put in place, but it dramatically reduces the amount of plastic waste and litter in our community.