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Greenhouse gases a danger to public health: EPA
by Jamie Anderson - December 8, 2009 - comments
Declaring the greenhouse gases as a threat to public health will legally allow the EPA to develop tough rules for emissions of carbon dioxide and other gases. It will act on its own authority, without further action by Congress
Washington, December 8 -- The whole of America, rather the world, knew that it was only a matter of time before authorities categorized greenhouse gases a danger to public health.
The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) did precisely that on Monday. The announcement came ahead of the UN's Copenhagen climate change summit.
The EPA Administrator, Lisa P. Jackson, said, "Look at the droughts, the flooding, the changes in diseases, the changes in migratory habits, the changes in our water cycle and climate that we now find affect human health and welfare.”
America leads by example
While officially declaring greenhouse gases as a public hazard, Jackson said that it meant there were "no more excuses for delay" and that the government would "not ignore science or the law any longer".
The pronouncement means that U.S. President Barack Obama will have concrete evidence at Copenhagen that his nation would leave no stone unturned to cut the emissions.
Barack Obama is scheduled to join other leaders of the World on 18th December, the last day of the Copenhagen conference, and chalk out a concrete plan on climate change.
Jackson also noted that climate change was a real threat and the change was happening at an increasingly alarming rate.
"These long overdue findings cement 2009's place in history as the year when the U.S. government began addressing the challenge of greenhouse-gas pollution and seizing the opportunity of clean-energy reform," Ms. Jackson said.
"This administration will not ignore science or the law any longer, nor will we ignore the responsibility we owe to our children and our grandchildren,"she said.
Decision hailed
Various environmentalist groups hailed the announcement and maintained that it will immensely help the cause of emission reductions.
Emily Figdor, director for Environment America's federal global-warming program said, "This is the most significant step the federal government has taken on global warming. The stage is now set for the EPA to hold the biggest global-warming polluters accountable."
The critics
Meanwhile, the manufacturing industries and the oil and mining industries which have shown strong resistance to the climate change action claimed that the administration move was excessively politicized.
These industries warned that any new regulation on the matter would wrangle a legal tussle and nothing concrete will come out of it.
Thomas Donohue, president of the US Chamber of Commerce, was also cynical on the declaration.
He said, "An endangerment finding from the EPA could result in a top-down, command-and-control regime that will choke off growth by adding new mandates to virtually every major construction and renovation project.”