EPA Announces Greenhouse Gas Determination
Jackson says greenhouse gas concentrations at unprecedented levels due to human activity.
Compiled by staff
Published: Dec 7, 2009
Environmental Protection Agency Administrator Lisa Jackson announced Monday that after reviewing science and public comments EPA has determined that greenhouse gases threaten the public health and welfare of the American people.
"The accumulation of CO2 and other greenhouse gases in the atmosphere can lead to hotter, longer heat waves that threaten the health of the sick, the poor, the elderly," Jackson said. "It can increase ground-level ozone pollution linked to asthma and other respiratory illnesses."
According to Jackson on-road vehicles contribute more than 23% of total U.S. GHG emissions. EPA's proposed GHG standards for light-duty vehicles, a subset of on-road vehicles, would reduce GHG emissions by nearly 950 million metric tons and conserve 1.8 billion barrels of oil over the lifetime of model year 2012-2016 vehicles.
"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," said Jackson. "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."
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