Creating Climate Danger By Rescinding the EPA Endangerment Finding — Time to Become Strong Together
First Take: Temporary Defeats Are Opportunities
Lies and More Lies Pulverizing the Truth
Let’s not beat around the bush here. Mr. Trump and his Administration are the most destructive force ever against climate action.
Now they are going after the foundation of the Environmental Protection Agency’s (EPA’s) regulatory efforts to address climate change called “The Endangerment Finding.” Their strategy ultimately depends upon the Supreme Court agreeing with them, which would go against its own precedent in Massachusetts v. EPA (2007). Sadly, the five Justices that made up the majority are no longer on the Court, and this current 6-3 conservative Court has no problem overturning major precedents, given what it did to Roe v Wade; nor does it have a problem giving more power and victories to Mr. Trump.
What does the Trump EPA offer in place of the Endangerment Finding? Lies and more lies. A faux foundation built on thin dirty air.
The Trump Administration’s narcissist brand of politics, where truth is irrelevant and lies proclaimed boldly and repeatedly become “alternative facts,” is now a primary tool reached for when justifying dangerous and harmful policies. They have no compunction when it comes to destroying the truth in service of this insane Nero-esque torching of policies that have served to keep us safe from climate chaos and other harms.
A narcissist looks at others and sees only his own motives and dark impulses reflected back. Is the narcissist a liar? Well, when he looks at others he only sees that they are liars. Will he weaponize government? Well, his opponents are the real culprits! We’re just fighting fire with fire! And before they accuse us we’ll strike first and accuse them!
That’s why many in the Administration falsely accuse others of doing what they do — and attacking them for [not] doing so!
But it also serves one of the key purposes of propaganda in authoritarian regimes. It pulverizes the truth into rubble so that the average person concludes everyone is lying — including those who are actually telling the truth.
For example, Lee Zeldin, Trump’s EPA Administrator, in announcing their effort to destroy the EPA’s ability to regulate climate pollution, said this:
“We will follow the science, the law, and common sense wherever it leads, and we will do so while advancing our commitment towards helping to deliver cleaner, healthier, and safer air, land, and water.”
Just about every word is a lie.
But for anyone following the narcissist political playbook they themselves are the Arbiter of Truth. So they will chest-thumpingly declare that they are telling the truth and the real truth-tellers are the liars.
In trying to undermine the rock-solid scientific foundation for the Endangerment Finding, the Trump-Zeldin EPA points to a recent Trump Administration Department of Energy (DOE) report by five long-time climate science deniers. A review by leading experts compiled by Carbon Brief finds over 100 false and misleading statements. Another extensive review by 85+ scientific experts also finds basically the same thing (see cover letter, below).
When truth and facts are no longer the arbiter of what path to take, what policies to make, what future we will create, then the public is left with political tribalism and cynical nihilism. This is the epitome of hope-stealing.
For us in the Climate Movement in the US we cannot take this assault on truth and facts and the policies they support lying down. Because climate action is based on facts and the truth. If we can’t convince folks we have these, and that they are telling us to act boldly, we’ll lose. That’s why we must challenge all examples of the narcissists political playbook when applied in the climate/clean energy space.
Standing up for the truth creates hope because the truth is on our side and will set us free. Truth is our only path towards climate victory.
These Temporary Defeats Are Opportunities To Fulfill Our Calling
Once the Trump-Zeldin EPA grinds through the process and rescinds the Endangerment Finding this will become a fight in the courts. They will most likely lose in the lower courts. Thus, their strategy for success is pinned on the Supreme Court.
Some are dubious that the Court will overturn Massachusetts v. EPA (2007). I find their arguments quite unconvincing. Our working assumption should be that this 6-3 conservative Court will do so.
But these temporary defeats in the US can become opportunities to grow the Climate Movement into the greatest and most long-lasting social change movement in the history of the world. As Climate Action Athletes on this Olympian Field of Action, with truth as our guide we will break free from this tyranny and run towards victory.
What You Can Do
Trump-Zeldin is going to see this through to the bitter end. Ultimately we can’t stop what their EPA will do. But we can slow them down and take a principled stand at this kairos-climate moment on this Olympian Field of Action.
Submit A Comment
Right now the Trump-Zeldin effort to invalidate the Endangerment Finding is in the Public Comment phase. I urge everyone to make a comment opposing this effort to put sand in their gears and put yourself on record.
The EPA is required by law to respond. However, if your comment is a canned one using the same text that many others are using (e.g. text from an enviro group) the EPA can respond to them collectively. So it’s best to write your own and make it personal.
If you want to get into the weeds, here are helpful resources:
Harvard’s briefing exposing why the Trump-Zeldin EPA’s case to rescind the Endangerment Finding is flawed, incorrect, and invalid.
Carbon Brief’s briefing on why the DOE report they utilized to deny the science is false and misleading.
An extensive chapter-by-chapter rebuttal of the DOE faux report by 85 prominent scientific experts.
Focus on your values, American values, our Climate Movement values.
However, you don’t need to get into the nitty gritty details to make your comment unique and personal. Focus on your values, on American values (e.g. life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness as articulated in the Declaration of Independence), on the Climate Movement values of love, justice, beauty, freedom, creativity, wisdom, and sustainability.
If you would like to submit a Comment, here are the deadline and instructions from EPA’s website:
Written comments on the proposal may be submitted to the docket for this rule through September 22, 2025. There are several ways to provide written comments on the proposal, identified by Docket ID No. EPA-HQ-OAR-2025-0194:
Federal eRulemaking Portal for this proposal: click on the “Comment” box under the proposed rule document, which is the first document listed under the “browse comments” tab.
Email: a-and-r-Docket@epa.gov. Include Docket ID No. EPA-HQ-OAR-2025-0194 in the subject line of the message.
Once you are on the regulations.gov website, copy and paste in the Docket ID Number: EPA-HQ-OAR-2025-0194 into the Search box.
Here are screenshots of what the webpages for submitting a comment looks like.
Participate in or Support Lawsuits Suing Polluters for Damages
If/when the Supreme Court overturns Massachusetts v. EPA (2007) this will remove an obstacle that has prevented many lawsuits in state courts from going forward suing the Big Producers of Polluting Products. That’s because many state courts have ruled that it is a federal issue.
As an NPR article reports:
In a 2022 Supreme Court brief, the Edison Electric Institute (EEI) said that having the EPA regulate climate pollution creates an orderly system for cutting emissions while minimizing economic impacts on consumers and businesses. Rolling back the agency's authority could expose companies to a flurry of environmental lawsuits, the group said, adding: "This would be chaos."
For those wanting to file such suits they may be thinking of the famous words of one well-known conservative: “Go ahead. Make my day.”
So if the opportunity presents itself, and you are able, join in and/or support one of these suits. If the conservatives on the Supreme Court give us lemons, we’ll make chaos for the opponents of action and the Big Producers of Polluting Products. And to be nice maybe we’ll serve them some lemonade, too.
Join the Climate Movement
If the Supreme Court upholds this gutting of the Endangerment Finding by overturning the Court’s own precedent in Massachusetts v. EPA (2007), then our next recourse will be for Congress to pass and the president sign a law that explicitly establishes that the EPA has the authority to regulate climate pollution.
Of course, this means we must have a changing of the guard politically. Only a strong Climate Movement in the US backed up by Climate Action Supporters will be able to get this done.
That’s why, once again, growing and improving the Climate Movement is the most strategic thing we can be doing right now.
Lies in service of pollution and injustice. Bad court decisions. Bad faith gutting of climate regulations. Bad political actions. It all points to one solution.
Time to be strong together.
With the truth as our path, lighting our way forward, we must make the Climate Movement big and broad and active enough to:
stop bad stuff, set wrong right, and make things better;
become the greatest and most long-lasting social-change movement in the history of the world;
overcome climate by creating a just and prosperous sustainability that enhances wellbeing for everyone and everything; and
make the impossible possible and the possible actual and the actual beautiful and our future come faster.
As Trump & Co rip things down we will build ourselves up. Time to be strong together. We are the hope we’ve been waiting for.
Join us!
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