The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency’s new leadership is pushing to reverse the agency’s official stance that carbon dioxide and other greenhouse gases pose a threat to public health, undermining decades of American scientific research on climate change.
Bill McKibben writes for The New Yorker.
In short:
- EPA Administrator Lee Zeldin has recommended revoking the agency’s long-standing position that carbon emissions endanger public health, aligning with President Trump’s climate science denial.
- The decision challenges decades of research by American scientists, including Charles David Keeling’s work measuring atmospheric CO₂ levels and James Hansen’s climate modeling at NASA.
- The move is part of broader federal efforts to cut funding for climate research, with agencies like NOAA and NASA facing layoffs and funding reductions.
Why this matters:
For decades, American scientists have led global climate research, from measuring rising carbon dioxide levels to modeling future warming. The EPA’s push to reject its own findings threatens not only environmental policy but also public trust in science. Without acknowledging greenhouse gases as a public health risk, efforts to curb emissions could stall, worsening extreme weather, sea level rise, and public health crises linked to pollution and heat.
Read more: EPA urges White House to eliminate key climate rule
