Greenhouse Gases Pose Threat To Public Health, EPA Finds

Well we will all be saved from Climate Change now that the USA has officially accepted that the problem exists.

Now there is no reason for non-action by the major pollution producing country to curb Greenhouses Gas emisions!

ScienceDaily (Apr. 18, 2009) — After a thorough scientific review ordered in 2007 by the U.S. Supreme Court, the Environmental Protection Agency issued a proposed finding on April 17 that greenhouse gases contribute to air pollution that may endanger public health or welfare.

The proposed finding, which now moves to a public comment period, identified six greenhouse gases that pose a potential threat. “This finding confirms that greenhouse gas pollution is a serious problem now and for future generations.

The scientific analysis also confirms that climate change impacts human health in several ways. Findings from a recent EPA study titled “Assessment of the Impacts of Global Change on Regional U.S. Air Quality: A Synthesis of Climate Change Impacts on Ground-Level Ozone,” for example, suggest that climate change may lead to higher concentrations of ground-level ozone, a harmful pollutant. Additional impacts of climate change include, but are not limited to:

• increased drought;
• more heavy downpours and flooding;
• more frequent and intense heat waves and wildfires;
• greater sea level rise;
• more intense storms; and
• harm to water resources, agriculture, wildlife and ecosystems.

Tom Leonard in an article in the Telegraph writes:

America has signalled a fundamental shift in its stance on global warming with a declaration from the Obama administration that greenhouse gases are a threat to public health.

The statement issued by the US Environmental Protection Agency is expected to pave the way for new regulations of cars, power plants, building sites and factories by identifying carbon dioxide and five other gases as pollutants.

Environmental groups applauded it as a landmark decision that would allow Barack Obama to meet his call for a low carbon economy but industry groups warned that the so-called "endangerment finding" could cripple the struggling US economy.

America is the world's biggest producer of greenhouse gases but, under the Bush administration, Washington consistently downplayed the threat from global warming and stalled the EPA finding.