The EPA Gets the Memo and Regulates Greenhouse Gases

By now, we've heard the good news that the EPA has issued and "Endangerment Finding" and will regulate greenhouse gas emissions.

This puts pressure on Congress to get the job done, and puts pressure on opponents of progress to support Congressional action, which will likely be much more business-friendly than the regulatory approach of the EPA.  It's a good -- and expected -- chess move that was also very well timed for the Copenhagen COP15 conference.

My favorite quote in a post about this development from The Triple Pundit -- boldfaced in the section below: 

The so-called “endangerment finding” goes beyond mere words. It sets the stage for action and underscores a firm break with the policies and inaction of the past decade or so.

“Threat” is the word that the EPA finding and agency administrator Lisa P. Jackson used often in her remarks on Monday. EPA also found that GHG emissions from on-road vehicles contribute to the environmental and public health threat.

EPA says, “GHGs are the primary driver of climate change, which can lead to hotter, longer heat waves that threaten the health of the sick, poor or elderly; increases in ground-level ozone pollution linked to asthma and other respiratory illnesses; as well as other threats to the health and welfare of Americans.”

Jackson said, “These long-overdue findings cement 2009’s place in history as the year when the United States Government began addressing the challenge of greenhouse-gas pollution and seizing the opportunity of clean-energy reform. Business leaders, security experts, government officials, concerned citizens and the United States Supreme Court have called for enduring, pragmatic solutions to reduce the greenhouse gas pollution that is causing climate change.

“This continues our work towards clean energy reform that will cut GHGs and reduce the dependence on foreign oil that threatens our national security and our economy.”

Carpe diem!  I like how the messaging merges environmental, economic, health and security language.  As it should...

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