EPA clears the air

The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency announced on Dec. 7 that climate-changing pollution threatens the health of the public and the environment, marking a big step toward regulating greenhouse gases, according to The Associated Press.

The EPA made the announcement at the beginning of the 2009 United Nations Climate Change Conference in Copenhagen, Denmark—home of the world’s largest climate-change conference in history—to support the Obama administration’s argument that the United States is taking actions to aggressively combat global warming despite the fact that Congress has yet to act on climate legislation.

EPA officials said scientific evidence surrounding climate change shows that greenhouse gases threaten public health.

The agency added that pollutants, specifically carbon dioxide from burning fossil fuels, should be regulated under the Clean Air Act—the law that defines the EPA’s responsibilities for improving the nation’s air quality.