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GUEST: Tripp Van Noppen, Vice President of Litigation at Earth Justice

The U.S. Supreme Court ruled on Monday that the Clean Air Act gives the federal Environmental Protection Agency the authority to regulate greenhouse gases. In a sharply divided vote of 5-4, the high court decided against the EPA’s assertion that it had no mandate to regulate greenhouse gas emissions. The ruling was a rebuke of the Bush Administration, which has consistently argued against any regulation of industries or established standards on motor vehicle emissions. The EPA could still refuse to act on greenhouse gas pollutants, but in order to do so it would have to publicly determine that greenhouse gases are not harmful to public health and welfare. President Bush, for his part, reacted to the high court’s decision by stating that, “anything that happens cannot hurt economic growth,” and that whatever steps taken, “must be in concert with what happens internationally.” Environmentalists hailed this past Monday’s Supreme Court decision as a watershed victory in one of the most critical environmental cases in years.

For more information, visit www.earthjustice.org.