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The Planet vs. The U.S. EPA — Which Side Are YOU On?
A few weeks ago, we told you that the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency — now led by Republican Trump ally Lee Zeldin — was moving to dismantle any regulation seen as a threat to the fossil fuel or automotive industries.
At the time, we noted his apparent determination to deliver on Donald Trump’s reported campaign pledge to fossil fuel executives: roll back environmental protections in exchange for campaign support. And we shared how the EPA, under Zeldin’s direction, is targeting the 2009 Endangerment Finding — the landmark determination that greenhouse gases endanger public health and welfare — along with every regulation built upon it.
This, at a moment when climate change is accelerating: storms growing more violent and frequent, fire seasons starting earlier and lasting longer, flash floods wiping out entire towns.
Yet the agency — which in this context could just as easily stand for the “Enriching Polluters Association” — wants to strip away protections designed to limit air pollution.
For once, though, they are at least following the formal rulemaking process — and that’s an opportunity. It means the public has a chance to speak up. Here’s how you can get involved — and why you must.
⏱️ Chapter Breakdown:
00:00 - Cautions
01:33 - Introduction
04:32 - The Comment Process on New Rules
09:04 - Welcome the Super Happy Fun EPA
11:16 - The Lies at the Heart of the New Rule
13:36 - Basics of Making Comments
15:49 - The First EPA Argument
17:48 - The Second EPA Argument
20:48 - The Third EPA Argument
21:50 - The EPA's Climate Argument
23:42 - The Scientific Consensus
24:47 - The Impacts of the Rule Change
26:00 - The California Waivers
28:40 - What should you do?
30:08 - The Things to Include in Your Comment
32:56 - And then...?
33:52 - Thanks and Credits
👥 Today’s Sponsors
🌱 Electric Vehicle Association - https://www.myeva.org
⚡ EnergySage - https://www.kqzyfj.com/click-101290941-16952262
🎁 Win an EV with CCAN Action Fund! ➡️ https://bit.ly/transportevolvedEVraffle
Choose from:
• Rivian R1T / R1S
• Lucid Gravity / Air
• Porsche Macan EV / Taycan
🏅 2nd prize: Ioniq 5 or VW ID. Buzz
🥉 3rd prize: Chevy Equinox EV
🎟️ $200 ticket supports CCAN Action Fund nonprofit work
—
✊ Get Involved 🗳️ https://indivisible.org/town-hall-resources
❤️ Support the Show
📰 https://www.transportevolved.com
🔥 https://www.patreon.com/transportevolved
☕ https://ko-fi.com/transportevolved
📺 https://www.youtube.com/transportevolved
👕 https://www.redbubble.com/people/TransportEVd/
🛍️ https://amzn.to/40xOyjm
₿ 1QRZRGCCXUKPDZ2DZ9KX9JYJXMZDYHYGFZ0MN4WH
💬 Join the Conversation
🐘 https://mastodon.transportevolved.com/@show
💬 https://discord.gg/9WAjfQn
🌀 https://bsky.app/profile/transportevolved.bsky.social
🔁 Subscribe to our 2nd channel - https://www.youtube.com/transportevolvedtake2
🎙️ Credits:
Host and Script: Kate Walton-Elliott
Editor, Colorist: Kate Walton-Elliott, Vi Horton.
Art and Animation: Erin Carlie; Kate Walton-Elliott
Producer: Nikki Gordon-Bloomfield
Music supplied through Artlist.io
Film audio at start taken from The Decagon Conspiracy (2003). Used with permission.
© Transport Evolved LLC, 2025
🔗 Links:
Submit Comments Here: https://www.regulations.gov/commenton/EPA-HQ-OAR-2025-0194-0093
Read the Proposed ‘Rule’ Here: https://www.regulations.gov/document/EPA-HQ-OAR-2025-0194-0093
https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S0048969713001290 - Air pollution and health risks due to vehicle traffic
https://www.jstor.org/stable/20053815 - The Health Costs of Motor-Vehicle-Related Air Pollution
https://academic.oup.com/restud/article-abstract/89/6/2872/6529413 - The Impact of Car Pollution on Infant and Child Health: Evidence from Emissions Cheating
https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S1364032122009819 - Impacts of the large-scale use of passenger electric vehicles on public health in 30 US. metropolitan areas
https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S0048969721077330 - Impacts of vehicle emission on air quality and human health in China
https://www.nature.com/articles/s41893-023-01219-0 - Air quality, health and equity implications of electrifying heavy-duty vehicles
https://www.epa.gov/climate-change/endangerment-and-cause-or-contribute-findings-greenhouse-gases-under-section-202a
https://earthjustice.org/experts/hana-vizcarra/a-legal-analysis-of-the-trump-epas-plan-to-revoke-the-endangerment-finding
https://climateanalytics.org/publications/cat-global-update-as-the-climate-crisis-worsens-the-warming-outlook-stagnates
https://firststreet.org/research-library/atrocious-air
View all episodes
By A few weeks ago, we told you that the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency — now led by Republican Trump ally Lee Zeldin — was moving to dismantle any regulation seen as a threat to the fossil fuel or automotive industries.
At the time, we noted his apparent determination to deliver on Donald Trump’s reported campaign pledge to fossil fuel executives: roll back environmental protections in exchange for campaign support. And we shared how the EPA, under Zeldin’s direction, is targeting the 2009 Endangerment Finding — the landmark determination that greenhouse gases endanger public health and welfare — along with every regulation built upon it.
This, at a moment when climate change is accelerating: storms growing more violent and frequent, fire seasons starting earlier and lasting longer, flash floods wiping out entire towns.
Yet the agency — which in this context could just as easily stand for the “Enriching Polluters Association” — wants to strip away protections designed to limit air pollution.
For once, though, they are at least following the formal rulemaking process — and that’s an opportunity. It means the public has a chance to speak up. Here’s how you can get involved — and why you must.
⏱️ Chapter Breakdown:
00:00 - Cautions
01:33 - Introduction
04:32 - The Comment Process on New Rules
09:04 - Welcome the Super Happy Fun EPA
11:16 - The Lies at the Heart of the New Rule
13:36 - Basics of Making Comments
15:49 - The First EPA Argument
17:48 - The Second EPA Argument
20:48 - The Third EPA Argument
21:50 - The EPA's Climate Argument
23:42 - The Scientific Consensus
24:47 - The Impacts of the Rule Change
26:00 - The California Waivers
28:40 - What should you do?
30:08 - The Things to Include in Your Comment
32:56 - And then...?
33:52 - Thanks and Credits
👥 Today’s Sponsors
🌱 Electric Vehicle Association - https://www.myeva.org
⚡ EnergySage - https://www.kqzyfj.com/click-101290941-16952262
🎁 Win an EV with CCAN Action Fund! ➡️ https://bit.ly/transportevolvedEVraffle
Choose from:
• Rivian R1T / R1S
• Lucid Gravity / Air
• Porsche Macan EV / Taycan
🏅 2nd prize: Ioniq 5 or VW ID. Buzz
🥉 3rd prize: Chevy Equinox EV
🎟️ $200 ticket supports CCAN Action Fund nonprofit work
—
✊ Get Involved 🗳️ https://indivisible.org/town-hall-resources
❤️ Support the Show
📰 https://www.transportevolved.com
🔥 https://www.patreon.com/transportevolved
☕ https://ko-fi.com/transportevolved
📺 https://www.youtube.com/transportevolved
👕 https://www.redbubble.com/people/TransportEVd/
🛍️ https://amzn.to/40xOyjm
₿ 1QRZRGCCXUKPDZ2DZ9KX9JYJXMZDYHYGFZ0MN4WH
💬 Join the Conversation
🐘 https://mastodon.transportevolved.com/@show
💬 https://discord.gg/9WAjfQn
🌀 https://bsky.app/profile/transportevolved.bsky.social
🔁 Subscribe to our 2nd channel - https://www.youtube.com/transportevolvedtake2
🎙️ Credits:
Host and Script: Kate Walton-Elliott
Editor, Colorist: Kate Walton-Elliott, Vi Horton.
Art and Animation: Erin Carlie; Kate Walton-Elliott
Producer: Nikki Gordon-Bloomfield
Music supplied through Artlist.io
Film audio at start taken from The Decagon Conspiracy (2003). Used with permission.
© Transport Evolved LLC, 2025
🔗 Links:
Submit Comments Here: https://www.regulations.gov/commenton/EPA-HQ-OAR-2025-0194-0093
Read the Proposed ‘Rule’ Here: https://www.regulations.gov/document/EPA-HQ-OAR-2025-0194-0093
https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S0048969713001290 - Air pollution and health risks due to vehicle traffic
https://www.jstor.org/stable/20053815 - The Health Costs of Motor-Vehicle-Related Air Pollution
https://academic.oup.com/restud/article-abstract/89/6/2872/6529413 - The Impact of Car Pollution on Infant and Child Health: Evidence from Emissions Cheating
https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S1364032122009819 - Impacts of the large-scale use of passenger electric vehicles on public health in 30 US. metropolitan areas
https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S0048969721077330 - Impacts of vehicle emission on air quality and human health in China
https://www.nature.com/articles/s41893-023-01219-0 - Air quality, health and equity implications of electrifying heavy-duty vehicles
https://www.epa.gov/climate-change/endangerment-and-cause-or-contribute-findings-greenhouse-gases-under-section-202a
https://earthjustice.org/experts/hana-vizcarra/a-legal-analysis-of-the-trump-epas-plan-to-revoke-the-endangerment-finding
https://climateanalytics.org/publications/cat-global-update-as-the-climate-crisis-worsens-the-warming-outlook-stagnates
https://firststreet.org/research-library/atrocious-air