The EPA said that the scientific evidence surrounding climate change clearly shows that greenhouse gases "threaten the public health and welfare of the American people" and that the pollutants — mainly carbon dioxide from burning fossil fuels — should be regulated under the Clean Air Act. "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," said EPA Administrator Lisa Jackson at news conference. The action by the EPA, which has been anticipated for months, clearly was timed to add to the momentum toward some sort of agreement on climate change at the Copenhagen conference and try to push Congress to approve climate legislation.
Political considerations temporarily win over science. This is an outrageous assertion by the EPA in light of the recent Climagegate scandal. It's also an obvious power grab by the executive branch. Using the Clean Air Act allows the Obama administration to bypass the will of the Congress, who otherwise would have debated the scientific claims about man-made global warming and CO2. If Congress has any guts, they'll slap down the EPA to remove their claimed authority over greenhouse gases.
In the meantime, don't exhale on me!
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