For years, the EPA’s Endangerment Finding has been a crucial authority for federal climate policy that allows the EPA to regulate greenhouse gas emissions. Just last week, however, this finding came under threat from legal and political efforts seeking to revoke or weaken EPA authority, jeopardizing the cornerstone of U.S. climate policy and terminating the ability of stakeholders to effectively advocate in support of responsible climate policy.
Our goal at RPL is to empower runners to protect public lands and expand access to nature for all. A lot of the time, this means advocating for public lands protection policies and conservation efforts, but in this case, we wanted to inform our community about the importance of the endangerment finding to ongoing climate advocacy work. We believe this foundational component of climate advocacy is an important safeguard for clean air, clean water, and healthy ecosystems across the country, all of which are vital to the health of public lands and the health of runners recreating on these lands.
Background: What is the Endangerment Finding?
The EPA’s Endangerment Finding (2009) legally obligates the EPA to regulate greenhouse gas emissions under the Clean Air Act, based on the determination that these emissions pose a danger to human health and welfare. Efforts to weaken, revoke, or reinterpret this finding would reduce or eliminate the EPA’s authority to regulate emissions from sources like vehicles, power plants, and oil and gas operations and would represent a major blow to efforts intended to combat the climate crisis by mitigating greenhouse gas emissions.
Impacts on Trail Runners
A repeal of the endangerment finding would have significant implications for trail runners. Clean air is a bedrock of a healthy environment, and regulating greenhouse gas emissions is crucial to protecting the ecosystems and trails we love for generations to come. Here are some of the ways in which a repeal of the endangerment finding could impact trail runners:
Increased Wildfire Risk and Poor Air Quality Days: Climate-driven wildfires and smoke events are increasing across North America. Weakening regulation of greenhouse gas emissions could exacerbate these risks, making trail access unpredictable and dangerous.
Loss of Seasonal Predictability: Trail runners depend on relatively stable climate patterns to train, race, and recreate. Loss of greenhouse gas emissions regulations would contribute to longer heatwaves, degraded snowpack, and trail closures, shrinking trail access windows.
More Air Pollution on Trails: Loosening greenhouse gas regulations would likely lead to more pollutants (like ozone and particulate matter) in the air, which directly affect lung function, particularly during backcountry endurance efforts or trails near industrial areas.
Call to Action
Now is the time to run toward action—not away from responsibility. RPL calls on:
- Trail runners to speak out and submit comments in defense of climate protections.
- Policy makers to preserve and uphold EPA’s climate authority.
- Land managers to prepare for worsening climate impacts by integrating climate resilience into public land planning.
Use this action alert from our friends at Protect Our Winters to make your voice heard.