The Trump administration is about to tear down a load-bearing ruling that considers climate change as a threat to Americans’ health.
Today, the Environmental Protection Agency is announcing that it will publish its final rule to dismantle the [endangerment finding](https://www.epa.gov/climate-change/endangerment-and-cause-or-contribute-findings-greenhouse-gases-under-section-202a) for greenhouse gases — the legal foundation of the EPA’s major US climate regulations. But when it comes to climate regulation, a final rule is not the final word, and the move means frustrating uncertainty for industry, for the environment, and for ordinary people.
The most important consequence of this finding is that it justifies [tougher pollution limits on cars and trucks](https://www.vox.com/climate/24106924/epa-vehicle-emissions-carbon-pollution-climate-ev-hybrid). Car companies can then stay within those caps by increasing fuel efficiency or electrifying their fleets. The transportation sector is the [largest source of greenhouse gas emissions](https://rhg.com/research/us-greenhouse-gas-emissions-2025/) in the US, the bulk of which come from road vehicles. Without the endangerment finding, these specific regulations on greenhouse gas emissions from cars go away.
Once this domino falls, other climate change regulations like those governing pollution from power plants are likely to fall next.
The_Glum_Reaper on
*The world is a dangerous place to live not because there are evil men, but because of those that do nothing about it.*
– Albert Einstein, others
Egobyte83 on
Gotta love a leader who sees a banana peel on the ground and then really carefully makes sure that everyone he leads are certain to slip on it.
MySixHourErection on
I choose to accept that we have failed. While we have not technically lost the war, the outcome is inevitable. I’m going to try to enjoy what I have left of my time, and what’s left of the natural world.
6 Comments
The Trump administration is about to tear down a load-bearing ruling that considers climate change as a threat to Americans’ health.
Today, the Environmental Protection Agency is announcing that it will publish its final rule to dismantle the [endangerment finding](https://www.epa.gov/climate-change/endangerment-and-cause-or-contribute-findings-greenhouse-gases-under-section-202a) for greenhouse gases — the legal foundation of the EPA’s major US climate regulations. But when it comes to climate regulation, a final rule is not the final word, and the move means frustrating uncertainty for industry, for the environment, and for ordinary people.
This is the [culmination of a long campaign](https://www.federalregister.gov/documents/2017/03/31/2017-06576/promoting-energy-independence-and-economic-growth) for President Donald Trump and his allies to undo climate change regulations. The endangerment finding — which an EPA spokesperson described to Vox in an email as “one of the most damaging decisions in modern history” — was [name-checked as a target in Project 2025](https://static.heritage.org/project2025/2025_MandateForLeadership_FULL.pdf). Last year, EPA Administrator Lee Zeldin [wrote that repealing these rules](https://www.wsj.com/opinion/lee-zeldin-epa-ends-the-green-new-deal-aa81de06) would drive “a dagger through the heart of climate-change religion.”
The tale of the [endangerment finding](https://www.epa.gov/climate-change/endangerment-and-cause-or-contribute-findings-greenhouse-gases-under-section-202a) is its own saga. In 2007, the [US Supreme Court ruled](https://www.oyez.org/cases/2006/05-1120) that the EPA has the authority to regulate greenhouse gases under the Clean Air Act if they harm public health. In 2009, the EPA under President Barack Obama found that, indeed, gases that heat up the planet endanger people’s lives. The fossil fuel industry and Republican-led states have [challenged the decision](https://www.epa.gov/climate-change/petitions-received-2009-2010-reconsideration-endangerment-and-cause-or-contribute) over the years, but federal courts have continued to uphold it.
The most important consequence of this finding is that it justifies [tougher pollution limits on cars and trucks](https://www.vox.com/climate/24106924/epa-vehicle-emissions-carbon-pollution-climate-ev-hybrid). Car companies can then stay within those caps by increasing fuel efficiency or electrifying their fleets. The transportation sector is the [largest source of greenhouse gas emissions](https://rhg.com/research/us-greenhouse-gas-emissions-2025/) in the US, the bulk of which come from road vehicles. Without the endangerment finding, these specific regulations on greenhouse gas emissions from cars go away.
Once this domino falls, other climate change regulations like those governing pollution from power plants are likely to fall next.
*The world is a dangerous place to live not because there are evil men, but because of those that do nothing about it.*
– Albert Einstein, others
Gotta love a leader who sees a banana peel on the ground and then really carefully makes sure that everyone he leads are certain to slip on it.
I choose to accept that we have failed. While we have not technically lost the war, the outcome is inevitable. I’m going to try to enjoy what I have left of my time, and what’s left of the natural world.
This has Texan/Saudi fingers all over it.
We all collectively bend over and take it