Though public opinion on whether or not global warming is a major threat is split in this nation according to recent polls, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) announced Dec. 7 that greenhouse gases threaten the public health and welfare of the American people.

EPA also said that greenhouse gas emissions from on-road vehicles contribute to that threat.

According to a press release from the agency, it came to these conclusions after a “thorough examination of the scientific evidence and careful consideration of public comments.”

The agency asserted today that greenhouse gases are the primary driver of climate change, which can lead to hotter, longer heat waves that threaten the health of the sick, poor or elderly; increases in ground-level ozone pollution linked to asthma and other respiratory illnesses; as well as other threats to the health and welfare of Americans.

“These long-overdue findings cement 2009’s place in history as the year when the United States government began addressing the challenge of greenhouse-gas pollution and seizing the opportunity of clean-energy reform,” said EPA Administrator Lisa P. Jackson. “Business leaders, security experts, government officials, concerned citizens and the United States Supreme Court have called for enduring, pragmatic solutions to reduce the greenhouse gas pollution that is causing climate change. This continues our work towards clean energy reform that will cut GHGs and reduce the dependence on foreign oil that threatens our national security and our economy.”

EPA’s final findings respond to the 2007 U.S. Supreme Court decision that greenhouse gases fit within the Clean Air Act definition of air pollutants. The findings do not in and of themselves impose any emission reduction requirements but rather allow EPA to finalize the greenhouse gas standards proposed earlier this year for new light-duty vehicles as part of the joint rulemaking with the department of transportation.

On-road vehicles contribute more than 23 percent of total U.S. greenhouse gas emissions, the report states. EPA’s proposed standards for light-duty vehicles, a subset of on-road vehicles, would reduce greenhouse gas emissions by nearly 950 million metric tons and conserve 1.8 billion barrels of oil over the lifetime of model year 2012-2016 vehicles.

EPA’s endangerment finding covers emissions of six key greenhouse gases – carbon dioxide, methane, nitrous oxide, hydrofluorocarbons, perfluorocarbons and sulfur hexafluoride – that have been the subject of scrutiny and intense analysis for decades by scientists in the United States and around the world.

According to EPA, scientific consensus shows that as a result of human activities, greenhouse gas concentrations in the atmosphere are at record high levels and data shows that the Earth has been warming the past 100 years, with the steepest increase in warming in recent decades.

President Obama and Administrator Jackson have publicly stated that they support a legislative solution to the problem of climate change and Congress’ efforts to pass comprehensive climate legislation.

EPA issued the proposed findings in April 2009 and held a 60-day public comment period. The agency received more than 380,000 comments, which were carefully reviewed and considered during the development of the final findings.