In an attempt to stop potentially sweeping federal emissions regulations, the U.S. Chamber of Commerce wants the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) to hold a public hearing on the scientific evidence for man-made climate change, reports the Los Angeles Times.
Chamber officials say it would be "the Scopes monkey trial of the 21st century," which would rule on whether humans are causing dangerous levels of global warming, reports the newspaper.
EPA spokesman Brendan Gilfillan said in the article the agency based its proposed finding that global warming is a danger to public health on peer-reviewed science, which indicates that climate change is a danger to humans.
If the chamber's request is denied, it will take the fight to federal court, which the EPA says would be frivolous, reports the LA Times.
The EPA is set to formally declare that the heat-trapping gases blamed for climate change endanger human health, which will enable the EPA to regulate greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions under the Clean Air Act, reports the LA Times. Click here for the U.S. Chamber's petition.
The EPA endangerment finding, proposed in April, has resulted in more than 300,000 public comments, of which many question scientists' projections that rising temperatures will lead to increased mortality rates, harmful pollution and extreme weather events such as flooding, drought and greater sea level rise, according to the LA Times.
