For Immediate Release: April 17, 2009
Contact: Liz Rose (301) 270-4550 x231 or lrose@1sky.org [1]
Takoma Park, MD – President Barack Obama’s administration is ratcheting up the pressure on Congress to pass clean energy legislation this year by declaring its authority to regulate greenhouse gas emissions through the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA). Reacting to the EPA decision to detail the threats posed by global warming to both public health and welfare, Gillian Caldwell, campaign director for 1Sky, a collaborative national campaign for bold federal action on clean energy policy, said, “This move is a green light for the EPA to act on what scientists have been saying for years that carbon emissions are a danger to public health and welfare.”
“While the Bush administration passed on the hard decisions, the Obama administration is taking this opportunity to send a message to Congress to act now, and to polluters to change their ways,” Caldwell said.
This decision means EPA will be able to regulate entities that generate large amounts of greenhouse gas pollution including new cars, and new power plants. This global warming review - also called an “endangerment finding” – stems from an April 2007 Supreme Court decision that ordered the EPA (under the Bush administration) to reconsider whether greenhouse gas emissions are pollutants subject to regulation under the Clean Air Act. Regulations would not be put in place immediately but the threat of regulatory action intensifies pressure on Congress to pre-empt EPA action by passing legislation to curb pollution.
1Sky and its allies are sending a powerful message of grassroots support for strong energy legislation to lay the groundwork for a robust new economy through constituent meetings with Members of Congress and Senators nationwide.