Greenhouse Gases Threaten Public Health: EPA

The US Environmental Protection Agency announced today that greenhouse gases (GHG) are a threat to the public health and welfare of the American people. The announcement coincides with the start of the UN climate change meetings in Copenhagen, which also kicked off today.

EPA’s endangerment finding covers emissions of six key greenhouse gases – carbon dioxide, methane, nitrous oxide, hydrofluorocarbons, perfluorocarbons and sulfur hexafluoride – that have been the subject of scrutiny and intense analysis for decades by scientists in the United States and around the world. According to the EPA, the results of these scientific studies overwhelmingly show that levels of GHGs are at unprecedented levels due to human activity despite recent controversy surrounding leaked e-mails at a British climate research center. Those e-emails seemed to indicate that some scientists had exaggerated and even altered results of global warming studies.

The announcement by the EPA itself does not impose any new requirements on industry, but it will provide further momentum to President Obama’s previously announced emissions standards for cars and trucks.

The full report can be found on the EPA website.