If Congress won't limit the nation's emission of greenhouse gases, the Obama administration will, as the EPA on Dec. 7, took a big first step toward issuing federal regulations limiting emissions across all sectors of the U.S. economy.
Through issuing an "Endangerment Finding," the EPA officially established the government's stance that greenhouse gas emissions from commercial sources and motor vehicles "threaten the public health and welfare of current and future generations."
Issuance of the Endangerment Finding authorizes the EPA to start formulating, adopting and enforcing federal regulations controlling greenhouse gas emissions under the Clean Air Act.
The administration's action comes as the American Clean Energy and Security Act of 2009 - legislation limiting greenhouse gas emissions - appears stalled in Congress. Narrowly passed by the House on June 26, the bill is still awaiting consideration by the Senate, currently whiling the weeks debating health care reform. When, or if, the Senate takes up the American Clean Energy and Security Act, the bill's controversial cap-and-trade provision promises to result in prolonged globally-heated debate, if not the ultimate defeat of the bill.
"Coming on the first day of the U.N.-sponsored climate summit in Copenhagen, the EPA endangerment finding reinforced the Obama administration's intent to reduce greenhouse gas emissions and crack down on polluters," writes About Environmental Issues Guide Larry West. "In making the announcement, the EPA also issued a strong statement about greenhouse gases as the primary cause of climate change and their role as a contributing factor in hotter, longer heat waves and higher concentrations of ground-level ozone that lead to increases in respiratory illnesses and other health problems."
Also See:
House Passes Landmark Climate-change and Energy Bill
Cap and Trade: The Process and Costs
Abrupt Climate Change Likely this Century, Feds Say
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