Introduction: The laws behind environmental protection are basic in nature and intend to accomplish one main thing; to help reduce the amount of damage that is already being done to the environment and prevent further damage from being done. Many different types of laws exist; form laws on air pollution that limit the amount of CFC's and other ozone depleting agents to laws that deal with the amount of waste that can be dumped in a certain area. It is a known fact that since man has entered the Industrial Age in society, he has taken advantage of what natural resources that have been accessible to him. Mankind has brought about the extinction of many plant and animal species. He has dumped waste and polluted many lakes, rivers, and streams to the point where nothing can exist in them any longer. He has destroyed forests at an alarming rate causing many species to die and the loss of thousands of square miles of forest area, a majority of it in the name of profit. Even as I write this paper and you read it man is creating an enormous hole in the ozone layer of our Earth's atmosphere. By creating that hole, ultraviolet radiation from the sun is now entering our atmosphere and reaching us, causing many different types of problems that we are still just learning about.
             Yet many people believe that these laws that protect the environment are unjust because they prevent mankind from reaching his zenith in his abilities. Lawmakers in Congress, many backed by businessmen that would like to see many of these restrictive laws repealed, lobby for extending the quotas on these laws or repealing them altogether. They argue that these protections for the environment cost taxpayers (who plead with the government for a lowering in the amount of taxes that they have to pay) deserve less of a pinch in the wallet.
             Still, many people do not understand exactly how necessary these laws are. The damage that was being done did not ...