by: Tim Garaffa
I know it seems like this has been known for years, but it was not until yesterday, December 7, that the United States Environmental Protection Agency declared that greenhouse gases such as Carbon Dioxide, Methane, Nitrous oxide, and hydrofluorocarbons pose a health risk to human life and the environment.
Although the announcement does not bring with it any legislation for the regulation of these emissions, it does pave the way for legislation to be introduced. Legislation is being introduced that will limit the greenhouse gas emissions from vehicles, and legislation looking to tackle powerplants, oil refineries and chemical plant.
The announcement comes as the United Nations Climate Change Conference begins in Copenhagen, Denmark. This is expected to bring worldwide reform aimed at reducing global warming.
Skeptics warn that if regulations are put in place it can serious harm the economic redevelopment of the country. According to the National Association of Manufacturers, “It is doubtful that this endangerment finding will achieve its stated goal, but it is certain to come at a huge cost to the economy.”
I am hopeful that with a government agency finally acknowledging that greenhouse gases are harmful to the health of the planet and its inhabitants, emissions will be reduced, helping to stop the warming of our planet.
33 comments:
Finally! It kinda seems like this should have been talked about a long time ago. I think it will actually cause economic growth as companies look to invest in alternative research.
It does seem ridiculous that it has taken this long for them to recognize this. Took a while but at least they are starting to pave the way.
What did they actually find that is the danger to our health, I could see if it was like CO2 emissions being DIRECTLY linked to lung cancer etc...? That's like saying water pollution is a danger to our health. Does water pollution still happen? Uh, ya. I don't know what their getting at here...it's hard enough to prove cigarettes were a DIRECT link to cancers you really think they are going to prove that all greenhouse gas emissions are linked to the thousands of health problems we have today?
That's great news! I wonder what effect this will have on the Clean Air Act?
Although I think this statement should have been released long ago, I agree with Eric about the impact it will make. Simply saying that it is harmful to human health is too broad and weak of a statement. Fortunately, this came out right before Copenhagen, so we may see policies addressing the issue not far down the road. As far as the economy goes, I understand that we are in a recession and more environmental regulations will not have an immediate positive impact. The reality, however, is that these struggling industries are going to fail at one point or another, so we might as well start solving economic and environmental problems at the source! The transition from fossil fuels to renewable energy is slow and needs to keep moving.
What exactly do greenhouse gases do to us? They give us cancer, and other respiratory diseases.... probably. I think the declaration by the EPA is a long time coming However, with this announcement I don't think much will change anytime soon.
This is great news but as Maddie said I doubt it will make much of a difference in the amount of pollution we produce. Hopefully this will be a starting point for more pollution control legislation.
Although this seems like an obvious statement, the fact that it is leagally binding for the EPA has the potential for massive change. If the EPA has said that GHG's are a danger to human health, then they have a legal responsibility to actively reduce the amount of greenhouse gases emitted by the US. Before, the EPA's hands were tied because CO2 was not considered either a human health hazard or a pollutant, so they had no incentive to put money toward reduction projects for GHG's. But now, they have legal authority to begin projects, or to find methods to reduce the levels of GHG's coming from this country.
Im glad to see the government is finally taking action to recognize environmental health problems. As Tim said this does not mean any immediate changes, but as we all know, the first step to solving a problem is identifying it. I hope that this "new discovery" by the government will encourage them to take stronger action to not only protect our health but our environment as well.
It has taken a long time for legislation to approve what people already know and want changed...
I'm glad that a government agency has finally acknowledged potential dangers of greenhouse gases. However, I'm curious as to what health concerns greenhouse gases pose. Is there any proof of these dangers? Either way, I think this will bring about some positive environmental legislation.
I don't think that it really needed to come to legislation to know that GHGs harm human and environmental health. I think it was understood by most people that this is the case. Nevertheless, hopefully this will spark a change within different national governments, including the U.S., to create different legislations to combat the warming of our planet.
It definitely is a long overdue statement to be released, but at least they did finally say something. Maybe people will start to realize that it is a real problem since there is an official statement.
I think this is a very hopeful sign for things to come, not because they finally passed this legislation, although it is about time, but because for once in the remembered past the nay-sayers in opposition of something good didn't win. Hopefully health care to follow.
Since when has CO2 cause any health problems??? Don't get me wrong, I think that this statement is needed by the US government. However I get annoyed with comments from environmentalists or groups that don't state the scientific effect warming will have. Many of us will probably agree that global warming is in fact real, however because it is still a controversy amongst people on whether it is a scientific hoax or real I don't see people buying into statements that it is directly bad to our health. I think that if people want to make headway with the dangers of global warming in a capitalist society like ours they need to focus on the effect that it could have on GDP by not doing anything. Look at this youtube video...
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zORv8wwiadQ&NR=1&feature=fvwp
If these comments were finally labeled unsafe then I guess it kind of underscores why the US did not sign the Kyoto Protocol. Maybe ehy thought that CO2 emissions were not really dangerous...maybe.
This is a great post. I also beleive that in order to solve the problem we will also have to apply international policies to get other countries involved as well.If we dont there is a huge intensives for other countries to free ride.
I am hopeful that in this age where much scientific research has been done to confirm the dangerous health effects of such emissions, policy makers and economists can cooperate and devise public policies that can reduce emissions without harming the US economy. It seems to me, that this is a step that is necessary to reduce health risks and preserve the environment. As with many national subjects of concern, if it is important to policy makers then they will find a way to accommodate these new reductions.
It may be expensive up front, but "going green" usually pays off relatively quickly. There will also be more jobs created when green technology becomes more widespread.
I agree with Maddie. I don't think the actual announcement is going to change much. The best thing it will do is create more awareness with the public, but lets face it politicians have known about this for a long time and we still have a long way to go.
Well this seems like its well overdue. How could something so simple that doesn't really change anything in the first place take so long? Bureaucracy at its finest! Well I guess now that its changed we can't really complain. Hopefully the legislation will happen a little sooner...
This is going to be a doom and gloom statement, but here it goes: I think that the bottom line to things like greenhouse gases is that people have to notice the effects in their everyday lives. Although scientists have proven time and again that they are detrimental to human health, what is that really going to solve that problem? Unless people take action because they notice it, I don't think there is much incentive for anything to be done.
as far as the hurting the economy agrument, economies are going to be hurt alot worse when things really start chaning, like weather patterns and running out of oil. How would trade work without gasoline to power trucks and planes...it would slow down dramatically
It's awful that it took this long for the announcement to be made. Greenhouse gas reduction is something that has to be done in baby steps. It is up to our generation to ensure the future of our planet.
I wonder how exactly they plan to enforce those future regulations. I imagine it will be very tricky but hopefully this announcement will help people to take it more seriously.
This is a good first step definitely. THe EPA needs to create regulations across the board in order to make any substantial change. I think car manufacturers should be held to a very high standard since they have the ability to make more efficient cars. I think the EPA needs to focus on how to make a policy that doesn't affect the poor more than the rich, as most environmental policies do.
Why would it take our government so long to publically anounce this? It seems like everyone else already knew this.
Our government is not solely motivated by what is best for it's citizens. Politicians are constantly influenced by lobbyist as well as personal motives ($). I do no find it surprising how long this took, only reassuring of how inefficient our government actually is.
Just because the government announced that it is actually a problem doesn't mean that things will change. People think that government policy can change anything, but really what to to change is the people in society. The average person is not educated of the real harm that greenhouse gas poses. So before change is going to occur, and legislation will pass, the people will have to recognize the problem and act on it them self. We are a country made up of millions of people, if we were together, and all have common knowledge of the problem, then and only then, will we begin to see improvements.
ROBERT SEADER
Global Warming is a hot discussion and I believe it is a serious one. It is fact that our ozone is depleting and the harm of green house gases warming the surface of our planet is a real harm. I think the government certainly needs to be taking action to reduce harmful greenhouse gases in the preservation of our world.
I think it is amazing that this took so long, yet this seems to be a step in the right direction. But, just because they now acknowledge it doesnt mean things are going to change right away... If it took this long for them to "declare" these things are bad for us just think of how long it will take for actual change to be made
Katie Witters
wow...greenhouse gasses bad for human health? That's crazy! Wow...humans are an interesting species, we need serious scientific proof to know that something is bad for us. Silly
I don't think that economic growth with be hurt because businesses can benefit by investing in natural capital such as cleaner forms of energy that can be economically beneficial in the long run.
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