PRESS RELEASE

Pew Environment Group Praises EPA for Acting on Global Warming

17 April 2009

Contact: Brandon MacGillis – 202.887.8830

WASHINGTON - Today the Pew Environment Group praised the Environmental Protection Agency's (EPA) decision to declare greenhouse gases a danger to human health and welfare.

"The Obama administration took a critical step on the long road to solving the problem of global warming by declaring that greenhouse gases are dangerous to human health and welfare," said Phyllis Cuttino, who directs the Pew Environment Group's U.S. Global Warming Campaign.

In 2007, the U.S. Supreme Court reaffirmed the EPA's authority, under the Clean Air Act, to regulate greenhouse gas emissions from new motor vehicles, and directed the EPA to declare whether the best science shows carbon pollution is a danger to public health and welfare. However, the Bush administration never issued such a declaration and instead called for an additional period of public comment in the spring of 2008.

"With the second anniversary of the court's ruling having just passed, we welcome this long overdue action to tackle global warming pollution," said Cuttino. "This and other early action from the Obama administration demonstrates a strong commitment to using the power of the executive branch to tackle global pollution in the absence of a national policy."

According to the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change, there are numerous direct and indirect health impacts from global warming, including increases in infectious diseases and illnesses related to air pollution and heat.

"This is a critical first piece, but the job isn't finished.  The Obama Administration can and must follow-up this decision and bring real leadership to Capitol Hill," said Cuttino. "Addressing global warming can help our economy by helping to cut our dangerous dependence on oil, spur a new clean generation of jobs and save Americans money at the pump."

The Pew Environment Group is the conservation arm of The Pew Charitable Trusts, a non-governmental organization that applies a rigorous, analytical approach to improving public policy, informing the public and stimulating civic life. Click here to view our website.

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