Earlier this summer, the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), an arm of our government responsible for human health and the environment, formally announced plans to revoke the Endangerment Finding and roll back vehicle pollution standards. The Endangerment Finding was established in 2009 based on widespread scientific consensus that greenhouse gas emissions endanger public health and well-being. Since 2009, the Endangerment Finding has served as the legal underpin of numerous regulations, including the Clean Air Act, which sets controls for air pollution. 

This move would overturn years of research and progress on climate and public health, furthering the Trump Administration’s anti-environmental agenda. Removing vehicle emission standards will likely result in more pollution from trucks and cars. Transportation is the largest source of climate pollution in our nation today. 

For Alaskans, these potential changes represent a threat to our future. Fairbanks, for example, has previously been deemed “the most polluted city in America,” and struggles to safeguard against outdoor air pollutants. This proposed move from the EPA would only exacerbate these challenges. Researchers anticipate that lifting the Endangerment Finding and vehicle emissions standards will have immediate impacts on air quality, which is directly tied to lung and heart disease, asthma, and cancer. These risks will be disproportionately felt by vulnerable populations, including children, the elderly, and low-income households. This reality highlights a frightening disregard for people, wildlife, and the core mission of the EPA. 

Alaska’s residents, alongside other communities in the Arctic, are currently on the front lines of the global climate crisis. Greenhouse gas emissions are well known to contribute to climate change, and Alaska is experiencing rising temperatures that outpace anywhere else in the U.S. Residents are all too familiar with the impact these changes have had on Alaska’s annual fire season. According to EPA research (which has since been removed from the government’s official website), land burned in Alaska from fires is expected to double by 2050.* Climate change and melting permafrost is also restructuring our state’s landscape and food supplies – particularly along the coastline, forcing some communities to relocate and seek new food sources. These changes are staggering and deserve thorough attention from the EPA and the current administration. 

As concerned citizens who care about our communities’ health and the environment, we have one key tool available to make our voices heard and exercise the democratic process: submit a comment directly to the EPA. The EPA is required, by law, to open and review comments from the public. We must make it clear that Alaskans do not support the EPA’s position, and favor public health over handouts to polluters. 

Urge the EPA to follow their own guidelines to protect human health and use the best available scientific information. Submit a comment to the agency today, and share this opportunity with your community!

In Solidarity, 

The Alaska Center