Washington, D.C — The Environmental Protection Agency concluded Friday that greenhouse gases linked to climate change “endanger public health and welfare,” setting the stage for regulating them under federal clean air laws.
The EPA action marks the first step toward imposing limits on pollution linked to climate change, which would mean tighter rules for cars and power plants. Agency officials cautioned such regulations are expected to be part of a lengthy process and not issued anytime soon.
Limits on carbon dioxide and five other greenhouse gases would have widespread economic and social impact, from requiring better fuel efficiency for automobiles to limiting emissions from power plants and industrial sources, changing the way the nation produces energy.
In announcing the proposed finding, EPA Administrator Lisa Jackson said it “confirms that greenhouse gas pollution is a serious problem now and for future generations.” She reiterated that the Obama administration prefers that climate change be address by Congress through broad, economy-wide limits on climate-changing pollution. But the EPA finding of endangerment prepares for possible regulatory action if Congress fails to act.
Sen. Barbara Boxer, D-Calif., whose Environment and Public Works Committee is considering climate legislation, said the EPA finding — stalled by the Bush administration — is long overdue but that “the best and most flexible way” to deal with the problem is for Congress to take action on a broader approach.
Friday’s action by the EPA triggered a 60-day comment period before the agency issues a final endangerment ruling.
The agency said in its finding that “in both magnitude and probability, climate change is an enormous problem” and that carbon dioxide and five other greenhouse gases “that are responsible for it endanger public health and welfare within the meaning of the Clean Air Act.”
The EPA concluded that the science pointing to man-made pollution as a cause of global warming is “compelling and overwhelming.” It also said tailpipe emissions from motor vehicles contribute to climate change.
The EPA action was prompted by a Supreme Court ruling two years ago that said greenhouse gases are pollutants under the Clean Air Act and must be regulated if found to be a danger to human health or public welfare.
The Bush administration strongly opposed using the Clean Air Act to address climate change and stalled on producing the so-called “endangerment finding” demanded by the high court in its April 2007 ruling.
The court case, brought by Massachusetts, focused only on emissions from automobiles. But it is widely assumed that if the EPA must regulate emissions from cars and trucks, it will have no choice but to control identical pollution from power plants and industrial sources.
Congress is considering imposing an economy-wide cap on greenhouse gas emissions along with giving industry the ability to trade emission allowances to mitigate costs. Legislation could be considered by the House before the August congressional recess.
Comments
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rooster (anonymous) says…
hahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahha
ha
hahaha
ha
To all those who support the Holcomb plants. Put that into your coal pipes and smoke it.
Just think of all the wasted hours on trying to push for the plants when our legislators could be working on education, infastructure,or anything else of real merit.
Man my day just got sooo much bettter. I can't wait to read all the comments by the coal supporters then laugh at their arguements.
nut_case (anonymous) says…
Carbon dioxide and greenhouse gases are the biggest scam ever played out on the general public. If you think the skyrocketing gas/energy prices of the past few years have been hard to deal with, just wait until investors and traders get integrated into a 'cap and trade' economy. Yet again, there can only be one outcome...'we the people' loose while big corporations and wall street bankers cash in.
rooster (anonymous) says…
nut_case is right about one thing. nutcase!
Arumerfeartactics is forgetting that 50% of all electricity produced is lost, gone, never used. Maybe this will change how we use electricity.
devobrun (anonymous) says…
Arumer: This is exactly what Carol Browner and the supporters of AGW scares have in mind.
Cutting off fossil fuels will cause the costs of everything to skyrocket. Taxes will be used to subsidize the working poor. Power will further accumulate in Washington, D.C.
How will we all live if the government isn't helping?
How will the economy survive without the government?
The long lost days of individual importance are fading into the mist of past decades. Get used to it. Freedom is loosing to computer models wielded by bureaucratic megalomaniacs.
It won't be long until a thriving black market for coal and oil begins. I have my sources of alternative fuels (fossil fuels) lined up already.
rooster (anonymous) says…
Devo: the nonsense you spew should be able to power all of america forever. It's called windpower, keep yapping and we might be able to power the entire world.
Keep it up.
yankeelady (anonymous) says…
I can't wait to hear from the State House about this. What will they do now? Looks like the Governor was right all along.
ENGWOOD (anonymous) says…
Looking at this Carbon footprint map old Rooster better save his crowing and crying (and change) for Old BHO. It looks like old Dougl__ass county and points East better get a 2nd job to pay their electric bill. Sre is a lot of red area in the East.
Obama's Change we can do without!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
http://blog.wired.com/wiredscience/20...
rooster (anonymous) says…
Engwood must have missed the 200+ posts where pretty much everybody on the planet is in agreement that the lawrence plant is bad and needs to go. Doh!
Start the bill to have it removed and we'll all sign on.
I sincerely doubt any rational thinker will oppose it.
jimincountry (anonymous) says…
OMG! .....................we're all gonna die!...........hmnn, guess I knew that already.
Gore's rising tides from Atlantic to Pacific will bring an end to Kansans for sure......just hope to see that sob drown first!
jimincountry (anonymous) says…
The libs will get the real truth when hollywood tells them what's real!
pace (anonymous) says…
Just wait until the utility corporations have to choose between being responsible for a clean product or screwing over all the populations affected by their pollution, oH too late, they choose free dumping on their neighbors over and over again. Left to them the future of our soil and air quality is being sold for 10 cent of their profit for a dollar of our loss. Polluters are cheats, face it.
tunahelper (anonymous) says…
hey rooster, you and your leftist socialist fiends can be the first ones to lose electricity when omaba and his tree huggers nazis shut down electric power plants.
next, they will tell farmers that they can't raise cattle. then they will tell Boy Scouts that they can't have a campfire because they are polluting the environment.
algore is the biggest con-man of the decade, what a whiner. no solid science or evidence for global warming, just a bunch of hollywood pop-science. what a bunch of morons.
go ahead and shut down the Lawrence electric plant, you leftists can go back into the Stone Age. that's what omaba wants, a BIG government that will intrude into everyone's life.