04.02.07
Wow! Supreme Court rules against Bush on global warming
In a 5-4 decision, the Supreme Court today issued a “stunning rebuke” to the Bush administration and “ruled that the federal government does indeed have authority to regulate greenhouse gases linked to global warming.”
Frank O’Donnell of Clean Air Watch writes, “The Supreme Court has confirmed that carbon dioxide can be controlled under the Clean Air Act. That means California and other states have the clear right to limit greenhouse gas emissions if the Bush administration won’t.”
UPDATE: Some background: the case emerged in 2003 after the EPA rejected a petition calling for the federal government to restrict emissions of greenhouse gases — most notably, carbon dioxide. The EPA’s general counsel argued in a memo that “[carbon dioxide] and other [greenhouse gases], as such, are not air pollutants,” and “substantial scientific uncertainty” still exists about the effects of carbon dioxide on the environment.
The statement meant the Bush administration would not have to regulate carbon dioxide emissions under the Clean Air Act. The U.S. Court of Appeals upheld this view. (The Washington Post would later report that “two of the jurists who helped decide the case” had “attended a six-day global warming seminar…sponsored by a free-market foundation and featuring presentations from companies with a clear financial interest in limiting regulation.”)
Twelve states, three major cities, and several environmental groups appealed the decision, arguing the case “goes to the heart of the EPA’s statutory responsibilities to deal with the most pressing environmental problem of our time.”
UPDATE II: SCOTUSblog has more on today’s decisions. Read the full decision HERE.
UPDATE III: The four dissenters in the case: Chief Justice John Roberts and Justices Samuel Alito, Antonin Scalia and Clarence Thomas.
David Wozney said,
2 April 2007 at 11:04 am
Carbon dioxide released by man near ground level is heavier than air and sinks in air rather than rising up to the upper atmosphere to become a so-called greenhouse gas. While sinking, it stratifies from air. After sinking and stratifying, it tends to remain close to the ground and may find its way down to low-lying water bodies or down to ocean level where it can mix and react with water to form weak carbonic acid. Carbon dioxide is also removed from the lower atmosphere by rainfall.
LeisureGuy said,
2 April 2007 at 1:06 pm
Wow. So we’re in danger from the CO2 that’s displacing the atmosphere at ground level? That’s quite a discovery. I imagine that people are keeling over left and right.
For those who remember: George Bush pledged during his campaign to put caps on CO2 emissions. Unfortunately, Christine Todd Whitman believed him, and as the new head of EPA stated publicly that she would be moving to implement CO2 caps. She got slapped down quickly, because Bush was simply lying.