An exhaustive review of hundreds of scientific papers on climate change published since 2009 bolsters evidence that greenhouse gases such as carbon dioxide and methane are dangerous to human health.
The study, published in Science and co-authored by Samuel Myers, principal research scientist at Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health, strengthens support for the Environmental Protection Agency’s (EPA) 2009 Endangerment Finding, which created a legal basis for the EPA to regulate six greenhouse gases but could face challenges from President Trump’s administration.
The greenhouse gases covered under the Endangerment Finding include carbon dioxide, methane, nitrous oxide, sulfur hexafluoride, hydrofluorocarbons, and perfluorocarbons.
A December 13, 2018 WBUR article noted that conservative advocacy groups have recently been pushing the EPA to reopen the Endangerment Finding in order to rescind it and that President Trump has already taken aim at regulations on emissions from vehicles, power plants, and oil and gas operations.
The new study examined a wide range of health effects from climate change and found strong evidence that increased levels of greenhouse gases endanger public health in myriad ways, including by reducing air quality, increasing sea levels, and making staple crops less nutritious.
Read the WBUR article: Study: ‘No Scientific Basis’ For Challenges To EPA Endangerment Finding