GHGs Endanger Health

Greenhouse-gas emissions (GHGs) are threatening public health in the US and must be controlled by government regulations, the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) announced on December 7. The EPA analyzed scientific evidence and found that GHG-induced climate change means hotter, longer heat waves that adversely affect the sick, poor, and elderly. GHGs also contribute to pollution that increases asthma and other respiratory diseases. According to EPA Administrator Lisa P. Jackson, “These long-overdue findings cement 2009’s place in history as the year when the US government began addressing the challenge of greenhouse-gas pollution.” In 2007, the US Supreme Court ruled that GHGs may by regulated by the Clean Air Act, allowing the EPA to impose standards for light-duty vehicles that could save 1.8 billion barrels of oil over the lifespan of a car.