Photo: A snowy egret walking along the water's edge at Shoreline Lake in Mountain View California, by Theurv, Wikimedia
Today, Trump and his EPA administrator Lee Zeldin repealed the Endangerment Finding, which draws on scientific consensus that climate change is a danger to human health and requires action from the EPA to limit emissions. This radical rejection of science and the law puts profit over people.
The dangers of climate change and pollution are real, established in science and law, and the Trump administration’s Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) is obligated under the law to protect the American people from them. The repeal of the Endangerment Finding is the most consequential deregulatory action taken in decades. It bucks decades of established science in favor of a secret report written and commissioned by climate deniers and puts Americans at risk of wildfires, flooding, hurricanes, extreme heat, infectious diseases, and other climate impacts.
Ken Kobayashi, MD, a volunteer with SanDiego350, a climate action nonprofit, said, “San Diegans are already feeling the effects of climate change and air pollution. Air quality here is among the worst in California, and many home owners are struggling to find insurance due to increased wildfire and flooding risk caused by climate change. These problems will only get more harmful and more expensive without a strong EPA regulating industry to minimize pollution exposure, especially from the transportation industry, which contributes almost 50% of San Diego’s greenhouse gas emissions.
The Trump administration is putting profit over people. California must step up now to protect our health and well-being by embracing science-driven regulation of emissions. The courts must also recognize the critical importance of upholding the EPA’s mission to protect the American people and stop the repeal of the Endangerment Finding.”
