EPA says greenhouse gases 'endanger' health
By Janet Raloff
Web edition : Friday, April 17th, 2009
The Environmental Protection Agency issued a landmark ruling today. It said that “greenhouse gases contribute to air pollution ... The greenhouse gases that are responsible for it endanger public health and welfare within the meaning of the Clean Air Act.”
Environmental policymakers have been waiting to see whether the Obama administration would issue such an “endangerment” ruling for greenhouse gases. Many public interest groups had asked the Bush administration to do so. And it refused. The Bush administration also prohibited individual states from taking action, arguing that if the feds couldn’t justify such a ruling, the states couldn’t either.
In announcing the endangerment finding today, EPA Administrator Lisa P. Jackson sets in motion steps that could eventually force states to ratchet down their emissions. The new proposal cites not only carbon dioxide as a potential endangering greenhouse gas but also methane, nitrous oxide, hydrofluorocarbons, perfluorocarbons and sulfur hexafluoride. see more...
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