Key points in this Philadelphia Inquirer editorial on the repeal of the endangerment finding, the legal underpinning for regulating greenhouse gas pollution:
“By turning its back on the EPA’s “endangerment finding,” the Trump administration has eliminated the government’s power to limit greenhouse gas emissions. The 2009 finding, which recognized that carbon dioxide and other greenhouse gases produced by fossil fuels endanger public health, has been the cornerstone of U.S. climate policy.
Beyond the damage to the environment and long-term impact on an already dangerously warming planet, lifting restrictions will also result in higher costs for American motorists and bigger profits for oil barons at home and abroad.
In Pennsylvania alone, the toll would be significant. According to an analysis by the nonprofit Environmental Defense Fund, repealing the endangerment finding would result in $57 billion worth of additional fuel costs and over $12 billion in additional health costs by 2055 for Keystone State residents. Other costs include tens of thousands of additional premature births, millions of asthma attacks, and billions of metric tons worth of pollution.
The EDF, alongside a coalition of environmental groups, is currently suing the EPA to preserve emissions standards. The Trump administration’s backsliding puts America out of step with most of the world, where governments are embracing clean energy and electrification not only for health benefits but economic ones, as well.”
Click here to read the full editorial in the Philadelphia Inquirer