EPA to Make Major Announcement on Climate

From the Wall St. Journal.

"The agency is expected to officially declare greenhouse gases a danger to public health and welfare, according to people close to the matter and as reported by Dow Jones Newswires on Friday.

The controversial decision is necessary for the administration to move ahead with new light-duty vehicle emission standards and is the precursor to economy-wide regulations on greenhouse gas emissions. Opposed by many business groups and lawmakers who fear such an endangerment finding will place a burden on the economy, the EPA has said it's considering rules that would restrict emissions from large stationary sources such as power stations, refineries, chemical plants and cement kilns. It will be seen as a major victory by environmentalists.

The decision will give the Obama administration political leverage in negotiations at a major international climate summit in Copenhagen, Denmark, beginning this week. It also puts pressure on lawmakers to act; even the administration said a more finely crafted law that cuts greenhouse gases would have a more moderate effect on the economy than regulations under the more blunt Clean Air Act under which the endangerment decision is being made."

This is how Obama plans to get around Congress and the ClimateGate scandal to enact his "green" agenda. Expect him to do the same for health care reform and whatever else gets held up in Congress from his agenda--executive orders, changes to regulations via the individual agency (as he's doing here), etc.