Days after the Environmental Protection Agency announced plans to revoke a foundational climate finding, state officials and environmental advocates already were plotting their responses, with some touting the galvanizing impact of the controversial move.

Following months of speculation, Lee Zeldin, the recently appointed EPA administrator, made official on July 29 the agency's plan to revoke the endangerment finding, a 2009 declaration that six heat-trapping gases — including carbon dioxide and methane — pose a risk to public health.

The endangerment finding underpins the federal government's entire framework for reining in planet-heating pollution, covering everything from automobiles to factories to power plants. 

However, as the federal government took a step back from regulating heat-trapping gases, some advocates saw the potential for states like California to step in to fill the void. 

"If the EPA is saying greenhouse gases aren't supposed to be regulated under the Clean Air Act, then that means they can be regulated under traditional state authority," said Ann Carlson, the director of the Emmett Institute on Climate Change and the Environment at UCLA, according to The Los Angeles Times. "So this could have a silver lining for California."

California has a long tradition of leading the way on environmental regulation in the absence of federal action. California implemented the nation's first clean-air standards for automobiles in the 1960s, before the federal Clean Air Act even became law, according to the Times.

Under the Supremacy Clause of the U.S. Constitution, where federal law and state law are in direct conflict, federal law prevails. However, in areas where the federal government has remained silent, states typically have broad authority to act. 

Therefore, if the federal government argues that it is powerless to regulate heat-trapping pollution, it opens the door for states like California to step in. 

"Here in California, we recognize the science, we recognize the need for urgency, and we plan to continue doing the important work that will protect the public," said Liane Randolph, chair of the California Air Resources Board, per the L.A. Times. 

Given California's status as the nation's most populous state and the world's fourth-largest economy, automobile manufacturers often design their vehicles to meet its more rigorous standards.

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Rather than produce different versions of the same model car for different states, automakers typically will sell their California-compliant vehicles in other jurisdictions, expanding the public health and environmental benefits beyond the state's borders, according to Fast Company.

Before taking effect, the EPA's plan to rescind the endangerment finding must go through a lengthy administrative law process, which includes a public comment period during which anyone can weigh in on the move. 

This means that there still is time to use your voice and to contact your elected officials in Washington to tell them how you feel about the federal government using its power to rein in heat-trapping pollution.

Regardless of the policies being pursued at the state and federal level, there are always actions that individuals can take every day to make a real difference. 

For example, choosing cleaner transportation options like walking, riding a bicycle, taking public transit, or driving an EV all improve local air quality while combating rising global temperatures. 

Even better is installing solar panels, which gets your home largely off the grid and even allows your heating, cooling, and car charging to be done through the effectively free power of the sun, depending on what else you have running off your electrical system. Visit the TCD Guide for more on taking steps toward that goal and many others.

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