PITTSBURGH (PTTP) – On Feb. 12, the Trump Administration “terminated” the EPA’s landmark 2009 endangerment finding that regulated greenhouse gas emissions in the United States, concerning some students and experts about climate change.
The endangerment finding stated that global warming, caused by greenhouse gases such as methane and carbon dioxide, could cause harm to humans. Taking away this endangerment finding limits the EPA’s regulation power towards these greenhouse gases.
“This determination had no basis in fact — none whatsoever. And it had no basis in law,” Trump said in a press conference as reported by NBC. “On the contrary, over the generations, fossil fuels have saved millions of lives and lifted billions of people out of poverty all over the world.”
Many professionals disagree with Trump’s stance on the engenderment finding including Professor Joshua Ash, Director of the Environmental Law & Policy Clinic at the University of Pittsburgh. He said that while this is concerning, the endangerment finding could be restored with the next administration.
“This is a three-year thing, hopefully,” Ash said.
While greenhouse gases are being deregulated by the EPA, other pollutants are still under the EPA’s oversight and the organization has a responsibility to regulate them, according to Ash. For those concerned about the environment with the deregulation, he states that reducing some pollutants could help reduce others that the EPA is no longer permitted to regulate.
Students at the University of Pittsburgh find this deregulation generally concerning, including Environmental Science sophomore Maxwell Rolinson. He encouraged people with listen to the science surrounding the issue. While it upset him, the endangerment finding drawback did not sway him from entering the environmental field.