Suozzi Calls Out Administration\u2019s Disastrous Rollback of Bedrock Environmental Policy, Stands with Conservationists in calling for the reinstatement of 2009 \u2018Endangerment Finding\u2019
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Glen Cove, NY\u2014\u00a0Today, Congressman Tom Suozzi (D-Long Island, Queens) held a press conference to call out the Administration\u2019s revocation of the \u2018Endangerment Finding\u2019 that greenhouse gases endanger public health and welfare\u2014a move widely seen as a major setback to U.S. efforts to combat the climate crisis.<\/p>\n
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\u201cWe are here with\u00a0a very simple\u00a0message for the people of Long Island and New York: Wake up! Your insurance rates are going up, and Moody\u2019s Investor Services reports that Long Island is the fourth most vulnerable place in the United States of America for the effects of climate change,\u201d\u00a0said Congressman Tom Suozzi.\u00a0\u201cThis is\u00a0affecting the quality of your life. We here on Long Island, right by the water right here, are subject to the\u00a0effects of rising sea levels because the glaciers are melting. We are going to be affected when the permafrost in the arctic region starts to defrost,\u00a0and all the methane gas comes out and causes more of these greenhouse gases.\u00a0It affects our trees, it affects our wildlife, it affects nature, but it also affects us in real ways, like causing your insurance rates to go up, like damaging your properties, like making it so you are more subject to more floods\u00a0and more storms.\u201d<\/p>\n
Suozzi was joined by Executive Director of Citizens Campaign for the Environment Adrienne Esposito, Michelle Lapinel McAllister and Nino Luciano from the Coalition to Save Hempstead Harbor, Eric Swenson of the Hempstead Harbor Protection Committee, Matt Salton of the New York League of Conservation Voters, and Pete Budden of the Natural Resources Defense Council.\u00a0Mr. Budden announced that the NRDC will be filing a lawsuit to challenge this decision tomorrow.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe are messing with the divine creation of the earth: a thing\u00a0that\u2019s\u00a0been gifted to us. And it\u2019s been very resilient\u00a0over most of history. But now the effects of what we are doing as human beings are punching it every single day, and\u00a0I\u00a0can\u2019t\u00a0take it anymore.\u00a0So we have to wake up,\u201d\u00a0Congressman Suozzi added.<\/p>\n
On February 12, President Trump and EPA Administrator Lee Zeldin announced the rollback of the \u2018Endangerment Finding,\u2019 a 2009 policy that concludes that greenhouse gasses are a threat to public health. This ruling underpins federal action to curb planet-warming gases and is the legal bedrock of efforts to rein in harmful emissions.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe \u2018Endangerment Finding\u2019 was found in 2009, based on sound, good science. The reason it was called the \u2018Endangerment Finding\u2019 is because it put in danger our health, our economy, and our future\u2026\u00a0Climate change is costing us billions. In 2004 alone, we had 27 different climate tragedies throughout America. Extreme climate events, each one cost us 1 billion dollars per event, equating to over 30 billion dollars,\u201d\u00a0said Adrienne Esposito, Executive Director of the Citizens\u2019 Campaign for the Environment.\u00a0\u201cWe are\u00a0impacting\u00a0our planet. We need to act. We need to fight. When Congressman Suozzi called me yesterday, I said,\u00a0\u2018I\u2019m\u00a0so glad that\u00a0you\u2019re\u00a0going to\u00a0speak up and speak out because the silence from others is deafening.\u2019 And silence portrays that we accept or we agree. We do not accept this. We do not agree with this. And we will not.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cThe\u00a0\u2018Endangerment\u00a0Finding\u2019 is the legal foundation for regulating greenhouse gasses… repealing it would significantly weaken federal authority to\u00a0address pollution from major sources and protect public health.\u00a0The evidence is clear. Climate change is increasing risk to our communities, infrastructure, and economy. These impacts are\u00a0measurable\u00a0and growing, and sustained action at the federal level is necessary to reduce them.\u00a0Maintaining\u00a0the \u2018Endangerment Finding\u2019 ensures continued progress for clean air, environmental stability, and\u00a0regulatory\u00a0certainty. We have a\u00a0responsibility\u00a0to uphold science-based policy and protect the health and security of future generations,\u201d\u00a0said Michelle Lapinel McAllister, Program Director of the Coalition to Save Hempstead Harbor.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe water body you see behind us and all the other water bodies on LI are\u00a0part and parcel\u00a0of the\u00a0quality of life that we have here on LI.\u00a0It\u2019s\u00a0the\u00a0reason why\u00a0people move here,\u00a0it\u2019s\u00a0also\u00a0very important\u00a0to the economy of our land. 31 years ago, the nine local\u00a0governments\u00a0that share this harbor formed the Hempstead Harbor Protection Committee to look out for its water quality. We made a lot of progress\u2026 We can do a lot, and we spent tens of millions of dollars to improve this harbor, and\u00a0we\u2019re\u00a0enjoying the benefits of it. We\u00a0don\u2019t\u00a0want to see that go backwards, and we will if this continues the way it is\u00a0with the \u2018Endangerment Finding.\u2019\u00a0We need EPA to stand up, to do\u00a0its\u00a0job it\u2019s\u00a0designed to do and it\u2019s\u00a0created to do, and we need them now. Science is real, we need to base our decisions on science, not politics, and we need to start now,\u201d\u00a0said Eric Swenson, Executive Director of the Hempstead Harbor Protection Committee.<\/p>\n
\u201cWith the repeal of the \u2018Endangerment Finding,\u2019 President Trump and the EPA\u00a0Administrator\u00a0Lee Zeldin are accelerating their assault\u00a0on our health, environment, and economic future. Clean air is not a partisan\u00a0issue\u2014it\u2019s\u00a0a human right.\u00a0With this decision, it rewards polluters, weakens competitiveness of the necessary\u00a0car manufacturers, and leaves families bearing the unacceptable cost of dirtier air.\u00a0We are proud to stand with Congressman Suozzi and our fellow advocates to defend clean air and protect the health and the future of every New Yorker,\u201d\u00a0said Julie Tighe, President, New York League of Conservation Voters.<\/p>\n
\u201cThank you to the\u00a0Congressman\u00a0for holding this event and for speaking out against the outrageous repeal of the \u2018Endangerment Finding.\u2019 By rolling it back, the Trump Administration is launching the single\u00a0biggest\u00a0attack in US history on the\u00a0federal\u00a0government\u2019s efforts\u00a0to tackle the climate\u00a0crisis. It\u00a0amounts to pure climate denial. Quite simply, this will make climate change worse, this will make air pollution worse, and it\u00a0will raise\u00a0costs for people across the country.\u00a0It\u00a0is stunning that once again this Administration is asking people not to believe what they see with their own eyes\u2026 The NRDC will not stand for it. It\u2019s irresponsibly, it\u2019s unscientific, and it is illegal. We will take this fight to the courtroom.\u00a0We\u2019re\u00a0filing a lawsuit tomorrow, and we will win,\u201d\u00a0said Pete Budden, Senior Advocate at the Natural Resources Defense Council (NRDC).<\/p>\n
\u201cLong\u00a0Island is the fourth most vulnerable place in the\u00a0United States of America\u00a0for any population center for the effects of climate change.\u00a0Number\u00a0one is San Francisco, number\u00a0two is\u00a0Cape\u00a0Coral in Florida, number\u00a0three is New York City\u2014I also represent a\u00a0piece of\u00a0Queens\u2014and\u00a0number four is\u00a0Long\u00a0Island,\u201d\u00a0Congressman Suozzi said.\u00a0\u201cOver the past 50 years,\u00a0Long\u00a0Island\u00a0has had more disaster locations\u00a0than any other\u00a0place\u00a0in all of New York State. There have been dozens\u00a0of dozens of\u00a0disaster events. In the\u00a0United States of America, in 2024, there were 27 severe weather events that caused\u00a0over\u00a0$1 billion in damages,\u00a0$183 billion in total. In the year 2000, there were\u00a0five. 27 in 2024, and\u00a0five\u00a0in 2000. So,\u00a0this is real life.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cThe reason we are out here today, in the cold, out on the water here, is because we want to get more people who care about the earth; who care about climate change; who care about the effects this is going to have on your wallet; to actually start speaking up\u00a0and\u00a0speaking out about this issue.\u00a0There is so much noise every day as they flood the zone with things to get us agitated,\u00a0but this is an existential threat to us here on\u00a0Long\u00a0Island that we need to stand up and get people motivated\u00a0to speak out against,\u201d\u00a0concluded Congressman Suozzi.<\/p>\n
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