Identify and describe a quality management process that is utilized in your field of interest. Typically this process is in response or guided by a professional organization in that field. Identify that organization.
The Environmental Protection Agency's Wetland Mitigation Policy:
On March 31, 2008, EPA and the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers (the Corps) issued revised regulations governing compensatory mitigation for authorized impacts to wetlands, streams, and other waters of the U.S. under Section 404 of the Clean Water Act. These regulations are designed to improve the effectiveness of compensatory mitigation to replace lost aquatic resource functions and area, expand public participation in compensatory mitigation decision making, and increase the efficiency and predictability of the mitigation project review process (www.epa.gov, 2009).
Wetland mitigation is a quality management process in the matter that it helps to restore the quality of crucial wetland ecosystems that have been displaced due to anthropogenic disturbance (i.e. industry, building, agriculture). This is a policy enforced by the U.S. government requiring and environmental impact research report to be filed prior to and post displacement of a wetland. This allows the general public to review the report and contest any excavation before it begins.
Friday, November 18, 2011
Tuesday, November 8, 2011
Quality Management
Environmental Protection Agency: Quality Management Plan
This plan can be found in a pdf format at: http://www.epa.gov/quality/qs-docs/r2-final.pdf
"EPA is increasingly involved in the use of environmental technology for pollution control and waste clean-up, the use of particular technologies is often specified in permits and regulations. If decision makers are to have the necessary confidence in the quality of environmental data used to support their decisions or that environmental technology successfully performed its intended role, there must be a structured process for quality in place" (epa.gov).
The quality management plan is not only for projects directly performed through the EPA and its counterparts, but for the many organizations/companies conducting environmental programs funded by EPA are required to establish and implement the same quality system. This structured quality system ensures that the highest quality work is completed though an organized and conscientious approach.
This plan can be found in a pdf format at: http://www.epa.gov/quality/qs-docs/r2-final.pdf
"EPA is increasingly involved in the use of environmental technology for pollution control and waste clean-up, the use of particular technologies is often specified in permits and regulations. If decision makers are to have the necessary confidence in the quality of environmental data used to support their decisions or that environmental technology successfully performed its intended role, there must be a structured process for quality in place" (epa.gov).
The quality management plan is not only for projects directly performed through the EPA and its counterparts, but for the many organizations/companies conducting environmental programs funded by EPA are required to establish and implement the same quality system. This structured quality system ensures that the highest quality work is completed though an organized and conscientious approach.
Wednesday, November 2, 2011
Ethical Debate
Topic: Should sales of raw milk be allowed
The current argument in favor of raw milk sales in Wisconsin rests on whether the health benefits of consuming un-pasteurized, un-homogenized out weight the potential health risks. The current laws regarding sales of raw milk vary from state to state, some states prohibit consumption for anyone outside of the farm owners and family, and some allow raw milk to be sold in stores with an appropriate warning label. Raw milk contains a variety of potentially health beneficial bacteria and protein that are destroyed during the pasteurization process.
The argument on the other side is that there just is not any testing or regulations in place to protect the average consumers from the possible health dangers of un-pasteurized milk. Raw milk can contain disease containing bacteria which would otherwise be removed during the pasteurization process. Currently it is legal for farm families in Wisconsin to consume their own milk or give away milk, but illegal for the sale of raw milk.
Coming from a family dairy farm and drinking raw milk my entire life I am in favor of the sales of raw milk. It is ridiculous that our state government is concerned about this issue seeing that the Food and Drug Administration even has trouble catching E coli contamination in our meats that have already been through a handful of inspections before reaching the grocery store. Raw milk purchases should be up to the consumer to decide. If a person visits a dairy farm and personally sees their operation, they should be able to decide whether or not it is a safe place to buy milk from. Instead of people blindly trusting most the food they buy from the grocery store in which they have no idea where it came from, what is in it, or what kind of processing it went through; is it really that dangerous to buy milk directly from the producer?
References:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/United_States_raw_milk_debate#Legal_status
http://www.wisconsinwatch.org/2011/06/26/should-raw-milk-sales-be-legalized/
http://www.channel3000.com/news/29285037/detail.html
The current argument in favor of raw milk sales in Wisconsin rests on whether the health benefits of consuming un-pasteurized, un-homogenized out weight the potential health risks. The current laws regarding sales of raw milk vary from state to state, some states prohibit consumption for anyone outside of the farm owners and family, and some allow raw milk to be sold in stores with an appropriate warning label. Raw milk contains a variety of potentially health beneficial bacteria and protein that are destroyed during the pasteurization process.
The argument on the other side is that there just is not any testing or regulations in place to protect the average consumers from the possible health dangers of un-pasteurized milk. Raw milk can contain disease containing bacteria which would otherwise be removed during the pasteurization process. Currently it is legal for farm families in Wisconsin to consume their own milk or give away milk, but illegal for the sale of raw milk.
Coming from a family dairy farm and drinking raw milk my entire life I am in favor of the sales of raw milk. It is ridiculous that our state government is concerned about this issue seeing that the Food and Drug Administration even has trouble catching E coli contamination in our meats that have already been through a handful of inspections before reaching the grocery store. Raw milk purchases should be up to the consumer to decide. If a person visits a dairy farm and personally sees their operation, they should be able to decide whether or not it is a safe place to buy milk from. Instead of people blindly trusting most the food they buy from the grocery store in which they have no idea where it came from, what is in it, or what kind of processing it went through; is it really that dangerous to buy milk directly from the producer?
References:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/United_States_raw_milk_debate#Legal_status
http://www.wisconsinwatch.org/2011/06/26/should-raw-milk-sales-be-legalized/
http://www.channel3000.com/news/29285037/detail.html
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