Overview:
- The dismantling of the Endangerment Finding "felt like a slap in the face," writes the Rev. Dr. Yvette Griffin of Detroit's Pilgrim Baptist Church.
- The author lost her 14-year-old granddaughter Ariana to asthma in 2014 and now has two more grandchildren diagnosed with the condition.
- Vulnerable populations including children, older adults, and communities of color will bear the worst health impacts from weakened air pollution standards, she says.
When my granddaughter, Ariana, died in 2014 at just 14 years old after a severe asthma attack, my life changed forever. Her death forced me to confront the devastating connection between air pollution, our energy system, and human health.
Today, that reality is even closer to home. In 2026, I now have two grandchildren, ages 13 and 11, who have both been diagnosed with asthma. I also now have great-grandchildren, and I fear for the world in which they are growing up.
Through my family’s tragic loss and ongoing struggles, I have come to understand that toxic pollution from sources like power plants and automobiles can cause and worsen asthma and contribute to heart disease, dementia, and other serious illnesses.
By destabilizing our climate, this pollution also drives extreme weather that disrupts our lives, floods our homes, and leaves families without power.
Given my lived experience and everything I have learned since losing Ariana, the news that the Trump administration was proudly dismantling Clean Air Act public health protections felt like a slap in the face.
The repeal of the Endangerment Finding — the science-based determination that climate pollution endangers human health — strips the EPA of its ability to regulate pollution from cars and trucks. It also clears the path to eliminate pollution standards for fossil fuel-burning power plants, another major contributor to climate change.
According to research by the Environmental Defense Fund, rolling back the Endangerment Finding will lead to an estimated 25 million asthma attacks, 85,000 hospitalizations, and 50,000 deaths.
Who will suffer these consequences? As always, the most vulnerable: children, elders, expectant mothers, people with chronic illnesses, those who work outdoors, people with limited access to medical care, and communities of color who are disproportionately burdened by pollution.
If you believe in the sanctity of human life, you do not dismantle life-saving protections. You do not throw away your umbrella in the middle of a storm.
Why would President Donald Trump and EPA Administrator Lee Zeldin make such a reckless decision?
Climate denial and fossil fuels remain highly profitable. Fossil fuel interests poured hundreds of millions of dollars into Trump’s campaign, and now they expect their return — fewer regulations and higher profits — even if it costs lives.
For me, and for so many families, what is at stake is not abstract. It is deeply personal. It is the difference between life and death.
The good news is that we already have the tools to transition to cleaner, healthier, more affordable energy. Solar is now the cheapest energy source in history. Battery technology is improving rapidly. Energy efficiency measures can dramatically cut waste and costs.
What stands in our way is not technology or affordability. It is the grip of corporate greed and political corruption.
Let us raise our voices against this injustice. Let us mobilize voters to elect leaders who serve the public in good faith. Let us remove the corrupting influence of money from politics.
We do this for ourselves, for our children, for our grandchildren, for our great-grandchildren — and in honor of those, like Ariana, who are already our ancestors.
Planet Detroit’s Voices column includes opinion pieces from our community of partners and readers. These pieces express the voices of the authors and not necessarily those of the publication.
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