The Environmental Protection Agency has begun the process of rolling back a key environmental finding that underlies the federal government's entire framework for regulating planet-heating gases like carbon dioxide and methane, The New York Times reported.

The move threatens to nullify federal regulations limiting the amount of heat-trapping pollution permissible in everything from automobiles to factories to power plants.

"The White House is trying to turn back the clock and re-litigate both the science and the law," Vicki Arroyo, an environmental law professor at Georgetown University, told the Times, referring to when President Donald Trump directed the EPA to reassess the "legality and continued applicability" of the provision back in January. 

What's happening?

According to anonymous sources who spoke to the Times, the EPA already has submitted to the White House a proposed rule that would overturn the so-called "endangerment finding."

The endangerment finding refers to a 2009 EPA declaration that six greenhouse gases, including carbon dioxide and methane, pose a threat to the public welfare and therefore can be regulated under the federal Clean Air Act.

Paving the way for the endangerment finding was the landmark 2007 Supreme Court decision in Massachusetts v. EPA, which found that it is within the EPA's authority to regulate these heat-trapping, planet-warming gases that effectively collect in the atmosphere and form a blanket or invisible ceiling made of gas — hence, where the "greenhouse gas" nickname comes from.

In order to take effect, the Trump administration's proposed rule to overturn the endangerment finding must go through a lengthy administrative process, including a mandatory period for public comment.

Along the way, the proposed rule is likely to face legal challenges, Joseph Goffman, a former EPA official, told the Times.

Given that the endangerment finding is supported by both Supreme Court precedent and scientific consensus, some experts predict that the Trump administration will face an uphill battle in having it reversed. 

"It's a finding about greenhouse gasses based on science," said Jody Freeman, the director of the Environmental & Energy Law Program at Harvard Law School, according to a January report in the Times, at a time when the paper said legal experts called the chances of undoing the finding "slim." "It will be hard to convince the court — even a court with Republican-appointed judges — that the science somehow isn't there to support this finding."

Perhaps recognizing the difficulty of overturning the endangerment finding based on science alone, the Trump administration appeared poised to take a more legalistic approach.

The White House planned to argue that Lisa Jackson, the EPA administrator at the time, overstepped her lawful authority by making the endangerment finding in the first place, sources told the Times.

Why is the endangerment finding important?

The EPA administrator's 2009 endangerment finding acts as the legal foundation underlying the federal government's entire framework for regulating carbon dioxide and methane pollution.

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If the Trump administration succeeds in reversing the endangerment finding, all federal regulations governing the release of planet-heating pollution could become null and void. These regulations cover everything from automobiles to factories to power plants.   

What's being done to defend the endangerment finding?

Organizations such as the Environmental Defense Fund are raising awareness about the topic, with the EDF releasing a new video saying air pollution is costing the country billions and "the EPA might make it worse." 

As environmental advocates prepare to fight the Trump administration in court, there is still time to use your voice and tell your elected representatives that you support the federal government's ability to take action against rising global temperatures — regardless of political feelings about any other issues. Public sentiment goes a long way toward shaping policy on both sides of the aisle. 

Additionally, no federal rule change can stop people from taking steps at the community and individual level to improve local air quality and reduce the amount of planet-heating pollution entering the atmosphere.

When added together, small, everyday choices like installing solar panels, growing your own food, or taking public transit can really add up to make a meaningful difference, regardless of the policies coming out of Washington.

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