Yesterday, the EPA officially declared environmental carbon dioxide to be a public health threat.
"For a long time, we've avoided getting involved in the debate over global climate change," says ACSH's Jeff Stier. "We've pointed out that it's an environmental issue, not a health issue. Yesterday, the EPA changed that by stating quite clearly that, in their view, it is a health issue. We don't have the expertise to weight in on climate issues, it is outside the scope of our work. However, we are interested in evaluating the credibility of claims that global climate change, and thus carbon dioxide, are a threat to public health."
"The Wall Street Journal and the New York Times have widely varying views on carbon dioxide being classified as a toxic substance," notes ACSH's Dr. Gilbert Ross. "The Times is fervently in favor of the EPA's approach, since the EPA has bestowed upon itself the mission and mandate to regulate carbon dioxide emissions. The Journal points out, however, that there is a lack of popular support for this campaign and that the fact that the EPA has decided sua sponte that it is a problem, without regard to popular will or votes in any legislative body, is anti-democratic."
