Keeping with the theme, the Trump administration has decided that Lee Zeldin is just the right man to lead the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA). In his new position, Zeldin wants to throw out the 2009 “endangerment finding.” This research directly connected greenhouse gas emissions from motor vehicles with climate change and health impacts, reinforcing the purpose of the rule. This major regulatory rollback indicates a further move away from environmental policies established by former President Barack Obama.
Later, Zeldin would go on to call the repeal of the endangerment finding the “largest deregulatory action” in history. He made the case that this would be a massive boon to the business community. Plus, he said, it would take on the dominant “climate change religion.” He noted that those advocating for reduced carbon emissions often overlook the potential benefits of carbon dioxide, stating, “They’ll never acknowledge any type of benefit or need for carbon dioxide.”
That 2009 endangerment finding form the backbone of the Obama administration’s climate action policy. Specifically, it aimed to curtail the regulation of emissions that drive global warming and harm air quality. Zeldin’s proposed revocation is deeply alarming to environmentalists. They claim it deals a potentially fatal blow to the climate change fight. Environmental advocates warn that eliminating these types of regulations would undo decades of hard fought gains in air quality and public health.
In a recent interview, Zeldin positioned the repeal as beneficial for economic growth, suggesting that reducing regulatory burdens would stimulate businesses. Indeed, Chris Wright, Zeldin’s secretary of energy, echoes this sentiment. In a brilliant recent column, he suggests we think about climate change less as an existential crisis and more as a “byproduct of progress.” Wright further argued against stringent climate policies by claiming, “There are people who, in the name of climate change, are willing to bankrupt the country.”
Reducing vehicle emissions was the most effective in reducing annual death from air pollution vervoer. The continuation of this change can be seen in the number decreasing from 27,700 in 2008 to just 19,800 in 2017. Without these emissions reductions, deaths would have more than doubled. By 2017, we would have gone in the wrong direction and encountered an estimated 48,200 more deaths.
In every instance, Donald Trump has blatantly ignored the scientific consensus on climate change. He calls it a “hoax” and calls for more fossil fuel development. The administration’s stated intention to rescind the endangerment finding. This action is part of their ongoing effort to dismantle environmental protections and gut regulations in order to spur short-term economic growth.
Environmental justice advocates and public health advocates are concerned about the impacts of this regulatory rollback. They further believe that it will jeopardize the environment and public health for decades to come. As the climate policy debate begins to intensify, so will the competition. Ever since Zeldin’s leadership at the EPA the U.S.
