1. Government Air Quality Control<br />Setting: California, U.S.A<br />Jimmy: Hello, my name is Jimmy Yuh <br />Alex: And my name is Alex Lee<br />Jimmy: And we will be discussing the role the government plays in air quality standards. We’re also going to discuss the connection between air pollution and acute asthma attacks.<br />Alex: …..<br />Jimmy…<br />Alex: Sooo… We will start off with discussing what role the government should have in air quality.<br />Jimmy: The government, in between 1960-1990, had passed several acts that help enforce clean air and air quality. <br />Alex: As an example, back in 1990, GM made a electronic car called EV1 that could’ve reduced air pollution today. But it was discontinued and you’ll learn why later in this discussion.<br />Jimmy: The California Air Resources Board (CARB) was amazed by the practicality of the EV1, so they ordered that the seven largest car companies in the U.S.A to make “ 2% of its fleet emission-free by 1998, 5% by 2001, and 10% by 2003, in accordance with consumer demand, in order to continue to sell cars in California.”<br />Alex: But then General Motors and Chrysler, with George Bush’s administration, sued CARB saying that their regulations were too unrealistic, in their perspective.<br />Jimmy: This all lead to the death of the EV1. GM then claimed “that it could not sell enough of the cars to make the EV1 profitable.” Even though, in our opinion, the EV1 would have been very profitable.<br />Alex: But in GM’s defense, battery life technology wasn’t as advanced as they hoped. So that also may have been a reason for the EV1’s death.<br />Jimmy: But EV1 wasn’t the only electric car that was on the market. Honda made their own type of EV too.<br />Alex: In our opinion, the government should have played a larger role in continuing the EV1 car, instead of helping destroy it.<br />Jimmy: Who knows? If the EV1 was continued there might’ve been electric cars all over the world.<br />Alex: The government definitely should’ve been more eco friendly a long time ago.<br />Jimmy: But in the future, the government has to reduce the consumption of natural resources like gas, and they have to promote things like solar, wind, and tidal energy. <br />Alex: To enforce this they should start giving fines to electric companies that increase in size over the years (the fines will also be based on the electric companies’ income) until the electric companies use other natural resources for energy.<br />Jimmy: The government should also give things like tax cuts to companies that are using eco-friendly materials and encourage car companies to make more electric or hybrid cars.<br />Alex: Plus, the government should get other worldwide governments to follow up on these types of standards.<br />Jimmy: And there’s also a large health risk with more pollution.<br />Alex: For example, asthma.<br />Jimmy: Without a doubt, there’s an obvious link between asthma and air pollution too.<br />Alex: After all, you don’t expect your lungs to be in perfect shape after inhaling things like gas fumes, do you?<br />Jimmy: An acute asthma attack occurs when an irritant irritates your lungs. But the real problem with acute asthma attacks is that they can occur just because you laughed out loud or smelled a certain smell.<br />Alex: By the way, asthma is when you have difficulty breathing.<br />Jimmy: And If you have an acute asthma attack you cannot stop it without treatment. <br />Alex: As we pointed out earlier, there are many causes to an acute asthma attack. Smog, gas fumes, and smoke are some of them.<br />Jimmy: And in case you haven’t realized, these are all air pollutants. <br />Alex: So put it together. More pollutants like smog, equals more acute asthma attacks.<br />Jimmy: And obviously you are at more at risk to asthma and asthma attacks if there are lots of air pollutants in the air compared to a place where there are hardly any pollutants<br />Alex: Here are the main points of our discussion.<br />Jimmy: Number one: The government should enforce new rules about the environment.<br />Alex: Number two: There is a direct link between pollution and acute asthma attacks.<br />Jimmy: And Three: If we reduce air pollution, we’d probably be able to reduce the chances of acute asthma attacks which mean less chance of death.<br />Jimmy/Alex: THANK YOU FOR LISTENING<br />