Yesterday, EPA Administrator Lee Zeldin released a plan to rescind the endangerment finding. Jaime Butler, Communications Associate for the Evangelical Environmental Network, released the following statement of opposition, highlighting the implications of the EPA’s proposal for the state of Michigan:

“As a Christian called to love and care for my neighbors, I cannot support the EPA’s proposed repeal of the endangerment finding. This finding legally establishes the danger greenhouse gas emissions pose to human health and welfare through their contribution to climate change, thus giving the EPA authority to regulate climate-warming pollution under the Clean Air Act.

“This proposal means that our most vulnerable communities–children, pregnant mothers, older adults, and those with pre-existing health conditions–will continue to be at the frontlines of preventable risks for climate-driven harms like extreme heat, floods, and severe storms. This proposal abandons responsibility for caring for the very people whom God calls us to especially defend.

“As a Michigan resident, it saddens me to think how these disastrous impacts will reach me, my neighbors, and our environment at home. In Michigan, over 875,000 adults and 150,000 children suffer from asthma. Rising temperatures from greenhouse gas pollution will cause increased levels of smog, an asthma-triggering pollutant, putting the health of Michiganders at greater risk. This ruling will also impact our beloved outdoors and rural communities. The EPA’s decision would make our Great Lakes, cherished Michigan landscapes, outdoor recreation opportunities, and community safety vulnerable to more climate extremes like heatwaves, ice storms, and flooding. Additionally, Michigan’s farmers, growers, and rural communities have already been suffering the consequences of changing seasons and extreme weather events. We therefore call on the EPA to stay true to its mission of protecting human health and the environment and to abandon this proposal so that people in Michigan and beyond can have life and life to the full (John 10:10).”