The Cuyahoga River in Ohio had been so polluted that it caught fire repeatedly from 1868-1969, including a 1952 fire that resulted in nearly $1.5 million in damages. Amazingly, other rivers in the United States also caught fire during this period. The following question are about these fires.
Why didn't federal laws limiting pollution of rivers and streams prevent this pollution and these fires?
a. There were no federal regulations of water pollution at that time.
b. These industries that polluted the water had been repeatedly fined for polluting and simply continued to ignore the laws.
c. The federal laws preventing water pollution did not apply to this specific state, where this occurred.
d. This pollution went undetected by agents overwhelmed by the amount of work.

a. There were no federal regulations of water pollution at that time.

Explanation:  The Cuyahoga River in Cleveland was highly polluted by sewage and industrial waste from neighboring industrial firms in the 1960s. Inflammable materials were dumped on the banks and there was a film of oil on the water.  In June 1969, it caught fire from a spark on a train track and the resulted in a fire all over the river. It was not the first time this had happened but people had become more aware of the dangers of water pollution. The incident resulted in the launch of the Environmental Protection Agency. Before then, there were no federal regulations of water pollution .

hi there,

on december 11, 2001, china officially became the 143rd member of the

world trade organization (wto) in the culmination of a negotiation

process which began in 1986. economists have long been debating the

global effects of china's accession to the wto, and as china becomes

fully integrated into the organization over the next several years,

the accuracy of their predictions will be tested.

one of the biggest residual effects of china's entry to the wto,

according to economists, will be the relocation of manufacturing and

distribution centers to china. due to its cheap labor, cheap

industrial land, and educated workforce, china is an ideal production

centre for businesses based in outside countries. this will likely

result in a twofold impact – more jobs will be available in china,

while countries like india, which have historically offered cheap

labor, will suffer. taiwan and malaysia's technology industries are

already suffering as companies like dell computers move production to

china, and while foreign investment soars in china, other asian

countries suffer. in addition, mexico and the caribbean will lose

thousands of garment manufacturing jobs as the u.s. lifts restraints

on chinese textile imports.

while the impact on southeast asia may be negative, the western world

may benefit. while some suggest china's open borders will result in

increased competition and a decreased employment rate for the western

world, western countries will benefit from access to china's highly

developed electronics and industry sectors. with duties and quotas

slashed, and restrictions lifted, multinationals will benefit by

setting up distribution centers without the need for chinese

middlemen. in addition, it's expected that china will import massive

amounts of food products, machinery and vehicles from the u.s., japan,

hong kong, taiwan, singapore and south korea, thus providing

significant boosts to these countries' economies.

in conclusion, it seems that while western countries may benefit from

china's accession to the wto, there's the potential that asian and

south american countries may feel the pinch of free trade as china

moves to a global economy.