August 17, 2025
Do you think this endangers your health?
How about this?
Well – the Trump administration believes that stuff does not endanger your health or the environment and believes all the rules that put caps on things like greenhouse gases, vehicle emissions and power plant pollution – are based on shady science. Oh and it costs waaay to much money – so all those regulations need to go. And no matter what side of this issue you’re on — you have a chance to tell the administration what you think about this – and I’m going to explain how you can do that in a second.
Ok – so here’s what’s happening. In late July President Trump’s environmental protection agency announced a new proposed rule…to rescind what’s called the endangerment finding of 2009. The endangerment finding said “the current and projected concentrations of the six key well-mixed greenhouse gases — carbon dioxide (co2), methane (ch4), nitrous oxide (n2o), hydrofluorocarbons (hfcs), perfluorocarbons (pfcs), and sulfur hexafluoride (sf6)—in the atmosphere threaten the public health and welfare of current and future generations.” So – because more than 15-years ago the United States government decided – and the courts upheld – that these greenhouse gases were harmful to our health — the EPA under multiple presidential administrations have enact all kinds of regulations on power plants emissions and new car and truck emissions.
So if that endangerment finding is gone – all of the climate change protections, policies and regulations the federal government created using the power of the endangerment finding — would not be valid anymore because the statutory authority they were all based on would be gone. President Trump’s EPA administrator said if he’s successful in getting rid of the endangerment finding — it would be “the largest deregulatory action in the history of America.” Trump’s EPA has argued the science behind that 2009 endangerment finding is questionable, they don’t believe those greenhouse gases actually harms humans or the environment they say it was all political. And on top of that – they say all the climate policies that have followed since the endangerment finding have cost manufacturers and Americans more than $1 trillion. And that’s not acceptable. They say if this endangerment finding is gone it would remove greenhouse gas standards for light-, medium- and heavy-duty vehicles and heavy-duty engines. They say they intend to retain, without modification, regulations necessary for pollutant and air toxic measurement and standards, corporate average fuel economy testing, and associated fuel economy labeling requirements.” But what they failed to mention is that the endangerment finding is also the underpinning for regulations of greenhouse gas emissions on power plants and other manufacturing plants – which are notorious polluters.
Now – this is not going to happen overnight and it’s not going to be easy for the Trump administration to get rid of. That’s because the 1970 clean air act passed by congress was amended in 1990. In that amendment congress required the EPA to come up with emissions standards for new motor vehicles and engines. They did that and they were sued over it. In 2007 the United States supreme court ruled that greenhouse gases *are* air pollutants under the clean air act law. But said the EPA had to decide whether those air pollutants posed a danger to public health or welfare or whether the science was too uncertain to make a determination. As I said in 2009 after public hearings and public comments the EPA under President Obama said yes those greenhouse gases are a danger to public health and welfare and they finalized the endangerment finding. Of course the EPA was sued and in 2012, the dc court of appeals upheld the endangerment finding saying that the EPA was “unambiguously correct.” Now – the Trump administration is challenging all of that all over again.
So how can you get involved? This week – the EPA is going to be four virtual public hearings on this topic which you can attend. If you don’t want to attend and instead just want to submit a written comment you can do that too up until September 15th. I will include all the documents for you to participate in my next FactsHQ email so make sure you sign yourself up.
Lastly – it’s important to know – even if the EPA is successful in rescinding the endangerment finding – they are going to be challenged in the courts. This is going to be a long drawn-out process which will likely end with another showdown in front of the Supreme Court.
Read the EPA announcement here.
Read more about attending the virtual public hearings here.
Submit a public comment here.
Read more about the Endangerment Finding here.
