February 13, 2026
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US repeals EPA endangerment finding for greenhouse gases
Memes, outrage, and legal hair-splitting explode online
TLDR: The Trump administration scrapped the EPA’s endangerment finding, gutting the agency’s ability to limit greenhouse gases. Commenters split between fury, memes, and legal nitpicking—some calling it shameful and donor-driven, others arguing Congress should act—highlighting a high-stakes fight over who polices climate pollution and what happens to car and power-plant rules.
The Trump administration just yanked the EPA’s “endangerment finding” — the legal key that let the agency limit greenhouse gases — and the comments are on fire. Outraged readers called it “shameful,” while others blasted the move as a donor-pleaser that the President “won’t live to see the effects” of. Supporters didn’t flood in, but a few leaned on process: if the Clean Air Act never named climate, then Congress should. Meanwhile the memes rolled: “One step closer to Spaceballs,” and a snarky “You mean CO2 is not the same as CFCs?” when the legal vs science framing got muddy. Trump called the old policy a “scam”; commenters called that gaslighting.
The EPA’s press release stressed legal arguments, not science, claiming the law doesn’t authorize climate rules — even though the Supreme Court’s 2007 ruling said EPA could regulate greenhouse gases, and a 2022 decision kept some power, just narrower. That contradiction fueled drama. One user called the “Congress should do it” line reasonable, then slammed it as being “cherry picked to neuter the EPA” while other agencies flex. Stakes? Vehicle standards could vanish, power-plant rules get rolled back, and the U.S. loses a major climate lever. The vibe: legal hair-splitting meets climate panic, with jokes to cope.
Key Points
- •The Trump administration finalized repeal of the EPA’s 2009 greenhouse-gas endangerment finding.
- •The repeal undermines EPA’s Clean Air Act basis to regulate climate pollution from vehicles, power plants, and oil and gas operations.
- •The administration will also finalize repealing vehicle greenhouse-gas emissions standards tied to the finding.
- •EPA’s stated justification emphasizes legal limits of the Clean Air Act rather than disputing climate science.
- •Supreme Court precedents (2007, 2022) affirm EPA authority to regulate greenhouse gases, though the 2022 ruling narrowed power-plant regulatory scope.