Breaking: EPA to Declare Greenhouse Gases a Health Threat
WASHINGTON – Having received White House backing, the Environmental Protection Agency was expected to declare Friday that carbon dioxide and other greenhouse gases are a significant threat to human health and thus will be listed as pollutants under the Clean Air Act — a policy the Bush administration rejected.
The move could allow the EPA to regulate greenhouse gases, but it’s more likely that the Obama administration will use the action to prod Congress to pass regulations around a system to cap and then trade emissions so that they are gradually lowered.
My Take: Get ready for the next iterations of signs at Tea Parties. Some of us see this as progress, others see it as an attack on the free market, needless regulation, etc. Well, take a look at increasing rates of respiratory illnesses, the science of climate change, etc. While the right rails about debts to be paid by future generations, I for one would like to know that at least there will be human beings around to pay them.
