The Trump administration has rescinded the Obama administration’s 2009 Greenhouse Gas Endangerment Finding for gases like carbon dioxide. You may now exhale without worrying that the CO2 in your breath will contribute to global warming.
After all, with 8.3 billion people on the planet exhaling an average of 2.3 pounds of CO2 per person per day, about 9.5 million tons of CO2 are respired into the atmosphere each day. That’s a lot of hot air, literally.
Fortunately, plants like to take in the air we give out. It’s part of the life cycle that sustains a healthy biosphere. Add in the complete carbon cycle, whereby carbon is sequestered and released throughout the living and non-living components of the global ecosystem, and a natural balance is generally maintained.
The serious concern has been whether human activity, especially the increasing use of fossil fuels since the late 1800s, has tipped the natural balance.
The major “consensus science” conclusions of climate change related to the Endangerment Finding include the confident assertions that the modern-era climate change can be attributed to people burning fossil fuels and releasing greenhouse gases into the atmosphere. And these human-caused changes, according to one professional organization, “are larger and faster than any humanity is known to have endured over the last 10,000 years.” Besides, the numerous harmful impacts occurring now are anticipated to intensify and offset positive impacts.
Yet, from another perspective, one of the greatest contributors to elevating people from the depths of poverty has been the “burning of fossil fuels.” The transition from coal to oil to natural gas, along with advances in pollution controls, has substantially contributed to greatly improved living standards for societies that have properly utilized their energy resources.
And arguably human-caused changes in creature comforts from the use of fossil fuels are “larger and faster than any humanity is known to have [enjoyed] over the last 10,000 years.”
Furthermore, regarding harmful impacts, the tactic seems to be to find an extraordinary weather event and blame it on anthropogenic global warming. Extreme heat, blame it on people; extreme cold (as the U.S. just experienced), blame it on people.
At least the vast majority of scientists recognize that positive impacts exist. These include substantially increased global vegetation and the benefit of warm temperatures versus cold for human wellbeing and advancement.
Pluses and minuses must always be calculated and shared when attempting to quantify an extremely complex reality, such as climate change and its effects on populations and the natural and built environments.
The current retraction of the Endangerment Finding will be a particular breath of fresh air for the auto industry. Essentially, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency found that it “lacks statutory authority under Section 202(a) of the Clean Air Act to prescribe standards for [greenhouse gas] emissions” from “new motor vehicles and new motor vehicle engines.”
As a result of these changes, engine and vehicle manufacturers no longer have any future obligations for the measurement, control, and reporting of [greenhouse gas] emissions for any highway engine and vehicle, including model years manufactured prior to this final rule. This final action is only related to [greenhouse gas] emissions and does not affect regulations on any traditional air pollutants. Rather, this action realigns EPA’s regulatory framework with the best reading of the CAA, which does not authorize EPA to regulate [greenhouse gas] emissions from new motor vehicles.
As stated, traditional (health-based) air pollutants like sulfur dioxide, nitrogen dioxide, ground-level ozone, particulate matter, lead, and carbon monoxide (not CO2) are not affected by the new US EPA action.
So, if you have been holding your breath waiting for more sensible environmental regulations that focus on both people and the planet, you may now breathe easier.
This piece originally appeared at AmericanThinker.com and has been republished here with permission.
