The Looming Reckoning: Why the EPA's Endangerment Finding Demands Repeal

In 2009, the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) made a monumental declaration that quietly reshaped America's energy landscape and economic future: the Endangerment Finding for greenhouse gases. This finding, hastily concluded and based on what many argue was selective science, asserted that carbon dioxide (CO2) and other greenhouse gases threaten public health and welfare.

Its implications have been profound, serving as the very bedrock for an ever-expanding web of climate regulations that have burdened industries, inflated energy costs, and stifled economic growth across the nation. Now, more than a decade later, the urgent call to repeal this foundational policy is louder than ever.

The Endangerment Finding was a rushed determination, made in just five months with a glaring absence of the rigorous scientific peer review typically demanded for such far-reaching pronouncements.

It essentially classified CO2 – a life-sustaining gas essential for plant photosynthesis and human respiration – as a pollutant. This classification, proponents argue, paved the way for costly federal regulations, from power plant emissions standards to vehicle fuel efficiency mandates, all justified by a speculative 'social cost of carbon' that has ballooned to unimaginable figures.

The very science underpinning this finding deserves a fresh, unbiased look, free from political agendas.

Critics, including eminent scientists like Dr. Steven E. Koonin, former Undersecretary for Science in the Obama administration, and Dr. William Happer of Princeton University, highlight significant discrepancies.

They point to the 'pause' in global warming observed between 1998 and 2013, a period where CO2 levels continued to rise, directly challenging the alarmist predictions. Furthermore, the immense benefits of CO2, often overlooked in the climate debate, cannot be understated. Elevated CO2 levels have been shown to 'green' the planet, enhancing agricultural yields and supporting lush ecosystems, acting as a vital atmospheric fertilizer.

The economic fallout from the Endangerment Finding has been devastatingly real.

Industries, particularly energy-intensive sectors and manufacturing, have faced crippling compliance costs, driving jobs overseas and diminishing America's competitive edge. Households, too, have felt the pinch through higher electricity bills and increased costs for everyday goods and services, all attributed to regulations spawned from this single finding.

This policy has been weaponized by those pushing radical agendas like the Green New Deal, threatening to dismantle our reliable energy infrastructure and plunge the nation into an era of energy poverty and dependence.

The time for a decisive course correction is upon us. Congress has the constitutional authority, and indeed the moral imperative, to repeal the Endangerment Finding and restore balance to our environmental policy.

Alternatively, a new EPA administration could choose to revisit this critical determination, ensuring that any future policies are grounded in comprehensive, unbiased science and a realistic understanding of economic consequences. By dismantling this flawed foundation, America can reclaim its energy independence, foster economic prosperity, and ensure that environmental stewardship goes hand-in-hand with human flourishing, rather than hindering it.

The future of American ingenuity and prosperity hinges on this crucial policy reversal.