| July 29, 2010 |  |
EPA Correctly Rejects Petitioners Challenging Climate Science in Endangerment Finding
WASHINGTON (July 29, 2010) – The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) today rejected petitions from Peabody Coal, the U.S. Chamber of Commerce, the Commonwealth of Virginia and others that asked the agency to rescind its scientific finding that heat-trapping gases pose a threat to public health. The Union of Concerned Scientists (UCS) says the EPA made the right decision based on science.
Below is a statement by Kevin Knobloch, UCS president.
"The EPA's decision to reject these claims is backed by decades of research and on-the-ground observations, including from more than 7,000 weather stations that take air temperatures around the world. Pronounced warming has occurred over the last 30 years, and the last decade has been the hottest in 130 years of record-keeping.
"Anyone who sweltered through the recent heat waves can attest to the fact that extreme temperatures are a threat to human health. If we don't swiftly and deeply reduce our emissions, heat waves are likely to occur more often and be more severe, eventually making these temperatures commonplace in summer. Heat waves already have led to an increase in heat-related deaths and sicknesses, especially among the poor, children and the elderly, and this trend is likely to get worse.
"It's even more disturbing that a group of lawmakers, led by Senator Murkowski and Representative LaTourette, have been waging a concerted effort to roll back the EPA's authority under the Clean Air Act to regulate global warming emissions. These attacks are being orchestrated by coal and oil interests in an effort to inappropriately inject Congress into a scientific determination by a government agency.
"Some senators insist Congress should set global warming policy, not the EPA, but it has been more than a year since their colleagues in the House took action, and the Senate has failed to get the job done. Their failure to address climate exposes their attacks on the EPA for what they are – a blatant attempt to eliminate the primary tool the government has to protect human health.
"There are no valid reasons for inaction. Leading science organizations around the world, including the National Academy of Sciences here at home, have repeatedly confirmed human-caused global warming is occurring and poses a significant threat to public health. The Senate needs to meet its responsibility to protect the health and security of the American people."
The Union of Concerned Scientists puts rigorous, independent science to work to solve our planet's most pressing problems. Joining with citizens across the country, we combine technical analysis and effective advocacy to create innovative, practical solutions for a healthy, safe, and sustainable future.
