The Daily Background

Today the Supreme Court rebuked the Bush Administration, deciding with the pro-regulation environmental side in saying that the EPA has the right to regulate harmful CO2 emissoins from cars and other vehicles. Here’s the Wapo:

The Supreme Court today ordered the Environmental Protection Agency to reconsider its refusal to regulate greenhouse gas emissions, narrowly siding with 12 states and various environmental groups in a battle with the Bush administration over global warming.

In a 5-4 decision, the court ruled after a four-year court battle that the EPA has “a statutory obligation” under the Clean Air Act to regulate cars’ emissions of carbon dioxide and other greenhouse gases. It said the agency based its refusal to do so on “impermissible considerations” in an arbitrary and capricious way and that it must take a fresh look at the issue, grounding its reasons for action or inaction on the law.

Here’s Al Gore’s statement on the SCOTUS victory today:

Although solving the climate crisis clearly demands that Congress pass bold legislation, today’s Supreme Court decision makes it clear that the Bush administration could act right away to cut global warming pollution. The court, in their 5-4 decision, made it very clear that the current Clean Air Act allows the Environmental Protection Agency to regulate carbon dioxide — the principle gas that causes global warming.

It’s a shame the Bush administration sought to limit its own authority to cut global warming pollution by fighting against this case.

Filed under: Environment Related, Z-TDB Blog