It’s official, reports Jim Tankersley of the Los Angeles Times:

The Obama administration today declared greenhouse gases a threat to public health, marking a major step — both practically and symbolically — toward federal limits on the carbon dioxide emissions scientists blame for global warming.

The move by the Environmental Protection Agency was prompted by a 2-year-old Supreme Court decision. It paves the way for the White House to regulate emissions from vehicles and effectively force the U.S. auto fleet to be cleaner and more efficient — a plan the administration is expected to put in place soon.

Read here for the saga of how the Bush administration avoided declaring carbon dioxide a health hazard.

The battle over carbon dioxide regulation has just started — the Obama administration might wait for the green light from Congress before EPA acts. But today’s announcement acknowledges an apocalyptic global health problem, helps the credibility of EPA and helps to de-politicize science.-MB

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