On Thursday, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency repealed the Endangerment Finding.
Originally passed in 2009, the Endangerment Finding established that climate pollution threatens public health and welfare. It authorized the EPA to regulate planet-warming emissions as part of the Clean Air Act and to limit greenhouse gas emissions from cars and trucks.
Thursday's rollback is the Trump administration’s most significant policy change undermining climate initiatives.
The head of the EPA touted the rollback as deregulation that will save Americans money. Katrina Mullan, an environmental economist at the University of Montana, disagrees.
"In the case of the Clean Air Act, there's been studies done – in fact, by the EPA – that suggested that the benefits of those environmental regulations were 30 times higher than the cost of those regulations."
She says the repeal will worsen climate change and Montanans will be economically affected. Worsening wildfire seasons, prolonged drought and warmer temperatures all negatively impact the state’s outdoor recreation, agriculture and tourism industries.
Dr. John Balmes researches climate impacts on human health at the University of California San Francisco. He says the biggest health impact of burning more fossil fuels is increased air pollution.
"PM 2.5 is the major contributor to the global burden of disease due to air pollution," Balmes says.
PM 2.5 are microscopic particles in the air that go into the blood stream. The particles are also in wildfire smoke.
"It also affects respiratory disease, it affects diabetes, premature births and low birth weight," he says.
Death tolls from heat waves, floods, and other extreme weather events will also increase in a warming world
With this federal policy repealed, state governments could be responsible for climate regulation. Montana has one of the strongest constitutional environmental protections in the country, it includes the right to a stable climate.
-
The Montana Constitution says "The state and each person shall maintain and improve a clean and healthful environment in Montana for present and future generations." How did that get included, and what does it mean for Montana? Learn more now on The Big Why
