The Erosion of EPA Enforcement Under Trump Creates a Public Health Risk

Weyerhaeuser plant, Halsey, Oregon. Photo: Jeffrey St. Clair.

It’s been a tumultuous couple of weeks for the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA). The agency followed through on its plan to rescind the 2009 Endangerment Finding and all the rules and decisions based on it. This action means the federal government no longer considers carbon dioxide and other greenhouse gases — which result from burning fossil fuels like coal, oil, and gas — a threat to public health and welfare, which goes...