Some people in the medical community warn that removing regulations limiting greenhouse gas emissions will result in escalating respiratory ailments.
The Trump Environmental Protection Agency proposes rescinding the finding that climate change is endangering health and lives. EPA Administrator Lee Zeldin said the endangerment finding is hurting the economy by tens of billions of dollars a year.
The Michigan Clinicians for Climate Action (MiCCA) says removing the protections would be a major hit to public health and climate action.
Dr. Alexander Rabin is a Clinical Associate Professor of Pulmonary and Critical Care Medicine at the University of Michigan. He’s a member of the MiCCA.
“We’re going to see more people get sick, more people get asthma, more people come in with COPD exacerbations. I mean, the data is there. It’s very clear what’s happening.”
The MiCCA said in a release that EPA cites no sources supporting its claim that the endangerment finding is costing Americans $54 billion a year.
Rabin said exacerbating the effects of climate change does no one any good. He primarily treats the elderly for emphysema and other COPD ailments, but said they’re not the only ones who could be harmed.
“We all have kids, we all have grandkids and whether you’re a Republican, or a Democrat, or Independent, we all breathe the same air. And at the same time, the people who probably have the least voice, are also the greatest affected," he said.
As previously reported, climate change is particularly hard on young children.
If the proposal to rescind greenhouse gas regulations is finalized, environmental groups are likely to challenge the EPA’s action in court.
