Word: epa
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...Environmental Protection Agency's (EPA) landmark decision on Friday to set in motion the process of regulating greenhouse gases had a little bit of the sardonically threatening spirit of that magazine cover. Concluding a scientific review initially ordered by a two-year-old Supreme Court case, the EPA issued its long-awaited "endangerment finding," formally declaring that carbon dioxide and five other greenhouse gases are pollutants that threaten public health and welfare. Under the Clean Air Act, that finding means that the EPA has a responsibility to address the damage caused by greenhouse gases, possibly through direct regulation...
...finding confirms that greenhouse-gas pollution is a serious problem now and for future generations," said EPA administrator Lisa Jackson. "Fortunately, it follows President Obama's call for a low-carbon economy and strong leadership in Congress on clean energy and climate legislation...
...This finding will officially end the era of denial on global warming.' ED MARKEY, head of the House climate-change committee, on the EPA's conclusion that greenhouse gases threaten public health...
...While the EPA has so far been silent about how it might actually regulate CO2 - and the endangerment finding is only an early step in a process that could take a year or longer - environmentalists say it's difficult to imagine that the agency would attempt to control every possible source of greenhouse gas emissions. "People running the EPA have common sense," says Frank O'Donnell, head of the environmental group Clean Air Watch. "They're going to focus the efforts on the biggest sources" like the auto industry and the utility sector...
...course, if the Obama Administration achieves its stated goal of passing carbon cap and trade legislation, EPA regulations might be superseded - and even deep greens generally prefer Congressional action to federal fiat. But with cap and trade looking like it may become a victim of the White House's need to prioritize amidst a sea of crises, the EPA's actions could provide a much-needed nudge to Congress. "This is a strong message," says O'Donnell. "Congress either has to face the reality that something has to be done, or the Obama Administration will just do it itself." What...