This blog was written by Jennifer Rennicks, former Senior Director of Policy & Communications at the Southern Alliance for Clean Energy.

Guest Blog | May 14, 2009 | Climate Change, Coal, Energy Policy

On April 17, 2009, nearly two years after the US Supreme Court ruled that the US EPA has jurisdiction in the matter, the federal agency ruled that carbon dioxide and other greenhouse gases endanger public health and can be regulated by the Clean Air Act.

EPA’s “endangerment finding” provides a good opportunity for citizens to offer public support for national action on global warming.  The EPA is now soliciting public feedback on this finding before proceeding to the rule-making stage, and the 60-day public comment period extends through June 23, 2009.

There are two ways to speak up and have your comments added to the Public Register to be considered while the agency shapes these rules and policies.

You can attend a public hearing (one to be held in Arlington, Va., on May 18, and another in Seattle, Wash., on May 21) or you can submit written comments  (reference Docket ID No.  EPA-HQ-OAR-2009-0171). You can personalize and adapt the Sierra Club’s form letter below and email to the EPA or you can visit the Sierra Club Action Center and submit online.

Take action this month and lend your voice to the chorus calling for EPA to take action on climate change so the world can see that the United States is ready to lead and do our part in combating climate change!

RE: Docket ID No. EPA-HQ-OAR-2009-0171 – I support bold actions on climate change

Dear Administrator Jackson,

Determining that carbon dioxide and other greenhouse gases endanger public health and welfare, as EPA has now done, is a bold and necessary first step towards solving the climate crisis. The scientific evidence for this decision, produced by “decades of research by thousands of scientists from the U.S. and all around the world,” is “compelling, and, indeed, overwhelming.” Your proposed findings make the case for action by demonstrating that climate change threatens “virtually every facet of the living world around us” and that its effects include “sickness and death.” And there can be no doubt that emissions from new motor vehicles and new motor vehicle engines cause or contribute to global warming pollution.

Your statement that this problem “cannot be solved by one regulatory action alone,” and that you will look at the “whole picture,” is very encouraging, especially combined with the many next steps EPA outlines. I urge you to move rapidly ahead with strong new rules designed to control greenhouse gases and provide a sound foundation for our economy.