Tell the Environmental Protection Agency to Protect Our Climate and Our Health

The federal government is about to abandon its duty to keep our air clean—and we need your help fighting back. You can tell the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency to keep poisons out of our air, and keep communities and wildlife safe by speaking at the upcoming virtual public hearing.

The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) is proposing to revoke the Endangerment Finding, a conclusion—based on decades of sound science—that undergirds the agency’s regulation of greenhouse gases like carbon dioxide, methane, and nitrous oxide. Made in 2009, the Endangerment Finding determined that these gases literally endanger—put in peril—human health and welfare. 

If the EPA’s recent proposal stands, the agency would no longer commit to protecting people and wildlife from climate pollution from power plants, oil and gas operations, factories, and more. The EPA is also proposing to repeal vehicle pollution standards, arguing, among other things, that emissions from cars and trucks don’t actually impact climate change, and reducing vehicle emissions wouldn’t help climate action that much anyway—two things that contradict every reputable scientific study.

The federal government says repealing all greenhouse gas standards will save Americans $54 billion in costs annually. But this is a drop in the bucket compared to what climate change-fueled unnatural disasters are costing us. January’s wildfires in Los Angeles were the costliest disasters this year, estimated to cost $53 billion, as well as more than 30 deaths and untold damage to wildlife habitat. And that’s just one disaster—last year, the U.S. experienced 27.

And then there is the increasing cost of our health. We’ll be trading any miniscule “savings”—of which, by the way, you won’t get back, for more medical bills, more asthma inhalers, and more insurance claims for disaster-stricken homes.

On August 19 and 20, the EPA is holding virtual public hearings to hear from the public about this proposal. This is your opportunity to tell the EPA to uphold the Endangerment Finding, and to avoid irreversible harm to our communities, lands, waters, and wildlife. 

The EPA has a legal responsibility to protect public health. The Endangerment Finding is a common sense acknowledgment of the harms of greenhouse gases, and it requires the EPA to do their job.

How do I register?

Register for the virtual hearing here. Here is a link to the official hearing announcement. It is virtual and scheduled for August 19 and 20, with potential for a third day on August 21 depending on the number of attendees.

Accommodation requests must be made by August 12 to the same email (EPA-MobileSource-Hearings@epa.gov). All attendees (including those who will not be presenting verbal testimony) must register. 

What will the hearing be like?

You will speak to a panel of EPA officials who are there to listen and to take notes. They may ask clarifying questions about your comments, but will not respond to the statements during the hearing. Plan to arrive early so you can make sure you have access to the virtual room, and can get a sense of what the hearing is like before you are called.

They may be running ahead of schedule, but you should be prepared for a wait. Depending on the number of speakers, there may be a delay. After you have finished providing your testimony, you are free to leave or stay to hear other comments. 

Each person has three minutes to speak. People usually read 150 words in one minute, so keep your comments under 450 words.

What should I say when I testify?

Make it personal:

• Examples from your own life to show why you think actions to combat climate change are important—they will make your testimony memorable. The EPA would prefer to hear about your specific personal concerns rather than just hear the same talking points repeated. Don’t worry about including highly technical information or legal arguments—talk about how climate change is impacting your life and the lives of things you care about, including wildlife. 
• Climate change is causing more intense weather events. Have you been impacted by worsened extreme weather such as Hurricane Helene, the extreme flooding in West Virginia or Texas, or the heat dome that blanketed much of the U.S. this summer?
• Smog and air pollution can cause or worsen respiratory illnesses, including allergies and asthma. Have you or members of your family felt any of the negative health impacts of climate change? Or, are you a health professional who works with people who are harmed by air pollution from coal-fired power plants?
• Climate change is harming wildlife and the outdoor places that we love most. How is a changing climate affecting the wildlife and outdoor places that you love?

Include a few key facts:

• Plant and wildlife species are shifting their entire ranges to colder locales, in many cases two to three times faster than scientists anticipated.
• In 2024, the U.S. experienced 27 billion-dollar disasters that collectively cost $183 billion and killed 568 people. If we compare this with the 1980s, which had an average of three $1 billion disasters a year, we can see the growing frequency and deadly intensity that weather disasters are having on our lives and livelihoods.
• Last year was the world’s hottest year on record. People are still reeling from catastrophic climate disasters like the flash flooding in Texas, fires in Los Angeles, the hurricane flooding in North Carolina, and 143 straight days of over 100-degree heat in Phoenix, 
• A study found that breathing fossil fuel-generated air pollution causes about 107,000 premature deaths annually, and in 2020 health costs exceeded $820 billion a year. This far outweighs any miniscule “savings” the EPA claims we’ll see from deregulation.

Tell the EPA to uphold the endangerment finding:

• The EPA has a legal responsibility to protect the health and safety of our communities, wildlife, and environment, and must not turn back the clock and roll back the very foundation of federal climate action in this country. 
• Repealing this finding would strip the EPA’s justification for regulating greenhouse gas emissions, putting everyone’s health at risk so polluters can continue to operate unchecked.
• Rejecting the 2009 Endangerment Finding accelerates our race to the bottom by attempting to halt the ongoing, job-creating push to expand affordable clean energy in America. This embrace of the past will only leave the U.S. more unprepared for worsening extreme weather and shifting economic winds.

If you can’t make it, still be sure that your voice is heard. You can speak up by submitting your comments to The Environmental Protection Agency via our action alert, coming soon.