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It was an unusual crowd that showed up for the first of two public hearings on the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency's proposed finding that emissions and greenhouse gases from motor vehicles contribute to air pollution that endangers the public.
A large number of the dozens of speakers that addressed the four EPA panelists May 18 represented either religious organizations or themselves as concerned citizens. The agenda was filled with names such as National Council of Churches, Dar Al-Hijrah Islamic Center, Tikvat Israel Environmental Committee and Rock Spring Congregational United Church of Christ. Many of the religious representatives cited the need for the EPA and for all of humankind to act as "good stewards" of the Earth.
The Physicians for Social Responsibility were among the few health care groups that participated in the hearing. Like the overwhelming majority of speakers during the day, they supported the EPA's proposed findings and urged the EPA to regulate greenhouse gas emissions. "The World Health Organization estimates that 150,000 die every year from the effects of global warming," the group's executive director, Peter Wilk, said during his statement. "We have reached a point at which there is ample scientific evidence that greenhouse gases cause global warming, that human health and welfare is endangered, and that regulatory action is necessary to reduce...