In 2009, the EPA acknowledged that carbon dioxide, methane, and certain other air pollutants endanger public health. That science-based statement forms the basis for government action to reduce the forms of pollution that threaten public health and welfare by contributing to climate change. The Endangerment Finding was endorsed by the Supreme Court and Congress under the Clean Air Act. Elimination of the Endangerment Finding would void the EPA’s mandate to protect people from the pollution that causes climate change. The EPA could then undo limits on power plants, cars, trucks, and other sources of climate pollution.
Reverend Sasha Ostrom, Senior Minister of the Morristown Unitarian Universalist Fellowship, commented, “At the Fellowship, our values call us to honor and protect the ecosystems of which we are a part and build sustainable relationships with all beings who share this beautiful planet with us. Therefore, we strongly object to the changes that the EPA is proposing.”
Nan Perigo, President of the Fellowship’s Board of Trustees, stated, “The EPA’S Endangerment Finding addresses the root causes of climate change. The Board of Trustees strongly condemns the proposed changes and asks all who care about human well-being and a livable climate to join us in opposing those changes.”
Increased air pollution will accelerate the climate crisis, leaving millions of Americans more vulnerable to deadly extreme weather. Health impacts from climate change are already evident: increased asthma attacks and heat-related deaths are becoming more frequent and severe.
Furthermore, eliminating federal limits on air pollution would inject more chaos and uncertainty into world energy markets at a time when prices are unpredictable and conflict is ongoing in many parts of the world.
The Morristown Unitarian Universalist Fellowship calls other faith communities and people of conscience to oppose federal actions that threaten human life and the environment on which we all depend.
