Health advocates urge EPA regulation of greenhouse gases

Labeling climate change “a serious public health issue,” more than
100 leading health advocates called on Washington policymakers this
week to allow the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) to regulate
greenhouse gas emissions.

The advocates — including 18 national
public health organizations, 66 state-based groups and dozens of
individual medical experts — urged lawmakers to “recognize the threat
to public health posed by climate change and to support measures that
will reduce these risks.”

{mosads}”In order to prepare for changes
already under way, it is essential to strengthen our public health
system so it is able to protect our communities from the health effects
of heat waves, wildfires, floods, droughts, infectious diseases, and
other events,” the advocates wrote Tuesday
to House, Senate and White House policymakers. “But we must also
address the root of the problem, which means reducing the emissions
that contribute to climate change.”

Endorsing the letter were the
American College of Preventive Medicine, the American Academy of
Pediatrics, the American Lung Association and the American Medical
Association, among a long list of others.

The letter is part of a wider campaign to protect EPA’s authority, which has become a top priority for environmentalists now that broad climate change legislation has collapsed on Capitol Hill.

Green groups and public health advocates are fighting Sen. Jay Rockefeller’s (D-W.Va.) bill that would delay looming emissions rules for power plants, refineries and other industrial facilities for two years. Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-Nev.) has signaled his intent to bring up Rockefeller’s bill this year.

In a 2007 decision, the
Supreme Court ruled that greenhouse gases qualify as pollutants under
the Clean Air Act, empowering the EPA to regulate carbon emissions from
vehicles, power plants and a host of other sources.

The Obama
administration has signaled its intent to do just that, but the idea
has run into a buzzsaw of criticism on Capitol Hill, where lawmakers of
both parties say the move would hike energy costs and destroy jobs.
Republicans and Democrats representing fossil-fuel-heavy regions have
been particular opposed to the concept.

Ben Geman contributed.