Environmental Protection Agency The Environmental Protection Agency headquarters in Washington, D.C. (more) What Is the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency’s Endangerment Finding? EPA rule [2009] Written by John P. Rafferty John P. Rafferty writes about Earth processes and the environment. He serves currently as the editor of Earth and life sciences, covering climatology, geology, zoology, and other topics that relate to... John P. Rafferty Fact-checked by Britannica Editors Encyclopaedia Britannica's editors oversee subject areas in which they have extensive knowledge, whether from years of experience gained by working on that content or via study for an advanced degree.... Britannica Editors Last updated Feb. 12, 2026 •History In everyday usage endanger is a loaded word that evokes images of people being exposed to disease, workers at risk of on-the-job injury, children threatened with harm because of negligence or worse, and challenges to long-term plant and animal survival. With the existential threat posed by climate change and its causes—a position held by a consensus of scientists around the world since the early 2000s—the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) created an internal rule in...

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