EPA: Global Warming Threatens Public Health, Welfare

On March 20, the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) sent a report to the White House Office of Management and Budget (OMB) stating that greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions endanger public health and welfare. A summary leaked to the media several weeks ago revealed some of its content, including findings that GHG emissions can endanger public welfare through ecosystem and environmental disruptions, and that public health could be endangered by temperature and air quality changes. Pending White House approval, EPA Administrator Lisa Jackson said she would sign the document by April 16, after which there would be a 60-day public comment period and two public hearings. Once finalized, the EPA would have authority to regulate GHG emissions under the Clean Air Act. While seen as an important step toward mitigating climate change, President Obama has expressed his desire for Congress to pass legislation that includes a cap on GHGs, rather than relying solely on EPA regulations.

The issue of GHG emissions posing an endangerment to the public was raised in April 2007, when the U.S. Supreme Court ruled that carbon dioxide, the most abundant GHG, met the definition of a pollutant under the Clean Air Act. Although a draft endangerment finding was sent to the Bush administration in December 2007, the issue had remained shelved until now.

For additional information see:

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2009/03/23/AR200903...
http://in.reuters.com/article/environmentNews/idINTRE52M4JB20090323
http://www.google.com/hostednews/afp/article/ALeqM5ijkHAtZJFhx5uAMHPXwXZ...
http://yosemite.epa.gov/opa/admpress.nsf/6424ac1caa800aab85257359003f5337/4bd0e6c514ec1075852575750053e7c0!OpenDocument
http://www.nytimes.com/gwire/2009/03/10/10greenwire-epa-document-shows-e...