National Academies say endangerment finding on greenhouse gases valid

WASHINGTON — The National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine on Wednesday delivered a stark rebuke to the Trump administration, concluding that the 2009 Environmental Protection Agency finding that greenhouse gases endanger public health and welfare was accurate and is now supported by even stronger evidence. The Academies said longterm observations show human activity is warming the planet, increasing extreme heat, worsening air pollution and extreme weather, and creating new and growing risks to Americans’ health and welfare.

The 135 page report, prepared by a committee of two dozen scientists and submitted to the EPA during its public comment period, directly challenges the administration’s proposal this summer to revoke the so called endangerment finding, a determination that underpins federal authority to regulate greenhouse gas emissions under the Clean Air Act. The Academies said scientific uncertainties that existed in 2009 have been resolved in many areas and that new threats, including intensified heat waves, wildfire smoke and impacts on crops and water availability, have been documented.

The report arrives amid a wider dispute over the science informing...