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Supreme Court rebukes Bush Administration on global warming mongabay.com April 2, 2007
"In short, EPA has offered no reasoned explanation for its refusal to decide whether greenhouse gases cause or contribute to climate change," wrote Justice John Paul Stevens for the majority.. "Its action was therefore 'arbitrary, capricious... or otherwise not in accordance with law.'" Until now, the Bush Administration had maintained that the Environmental Protection Agency lacked the authority to set new emissions rules because greenhouse gases such as carbon dioxide, which contribute to global warming by trapping heat in the Earth's atmosphere, are not covered by air pollution laws.
"While today's ruling does not itself require EPA to issue emission standards for greenhouse gases, it will be difficult for EPA to refuse such regulation once it applies legally permissible factors," she continued. "The Supreme Court today established that the agency cannot refuse to use its existing authority to regulate dangerous substances simply because it disagrees that such regulation would be a good idea." In addition to Massachusetts, 27 parties brought the case including eleven other states: California, Connecticut, Illinois, Maine, New Jersey, New Mexico, New York, Oregon, Rhode Island, Vermont, and Washington; three cities: the District of Columbia, New York City, and Mayor and City Council of Baltimore; the American Samoa Government; and thirteen environmental groups: Center for Biological Diversity, Center for Food Safety, Conservation Law Foundation, Environmental Advocates, Environmental Defense, Friends of the Earth, Greenpeace, International Center for Technology Assessment, National Environmental Trust, Natural Resources Defense Council, Sierra Club, Union of Concerned Scientists, and U.S. Public Interest Research Group.
Environmentalists hailed the decision. "This is a huge, huge deal. The proximate effect is that California's pioneering efforts against climate change are safe from federal interference," wrote David Roberts of Grist.org. "More broadly, the Supreme Court has put the weight of the judicial branch of the federal government behind the effort to fight global warming. There is no longer a shred of doubt, if there was any left, that federal action is inevitable." U.S. emissions The U.S. transportation sector produced about 6 percent of global carbon emissions and around a third of total U.S. energy-related carbon-dioxide emissions in 2005, according to the Department of Energy's Energy Information Administration (EIA). EIA figures show that in 2005 total U.S. greenhouse gas emissions rose to 7,147 million metric tons, a new record. About 83 percent of total U.S. greenhouse gas emissions in 2005 consisted of carbon dioxide from the use of fossil fuels including coal, petroleum, and natural gas. The U.S. is the largest producer of carbon dioxide. China, the number two emitter, is expected to surpass the United States this year or next, though its emissions per capita will still less than a quarter of that of the U.S. Overall, atmospheric CO2 levels have climbed by more than 35 percent since the beginning of the industrial revolution. Fossil fuel combustion, which releases carbon dioxide into the atmosphere, and land-use change, including deforestation, is blamed for the rise. Roughly 75-80 percent of anthropogenic carbon dioxide results from fossil fuel burning, while about 20-25 percent is produced by deforestation. The United States, the world's largest economy and consumer of energy, produces about 24% of global carbon dioxide emissions. Scientists believe rising levels of carbon dioxide and other greenhouse gases are causing Earth's atmosphere to warm. Research released last year by NASA, WMO, and the National Academy of Sciences found that 2005 was the warmest year in at least the 400 years, and possibly much longer. The WMO said that carbon dioxide has accounted for 90 percent of warming over the past decade. The Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) projects that atmospheric carbon dioxide levels could rise to 450-550 ppm by 2050, possibly resulting in higher temperatures, rising sea levels, stronger storms and hurricanes, and expanding deserts. Related articles Honolulu, Los Angeles have the smallest carbon footprint among U.S. cities (5/30/2008) Honolulu, Los Angeles and metropolitan Portland have the smallest carbon footprint among American cities, while Cincinnati-Middletown area, Indianapolis, and Kentucky's Lexington-Fayette have the worst, according to a new report that analyzes carbon emissions from transportation and residential energy use by city dwellers. U.S. carbon dioxide emissions reach record high in 2007 (5/21/2008) U.S. carbon dioxide emissions rose 1.6 percent in 2007 to a new record reported the Department of Energy's Energy Information Administration (EIA). Energy firm to mine oil sands in the Republic of Congo (5/21/2008) Eni SpA, one of Italy's largest energy companies, has signed an agreement to exploit oil sands in the Republic of Congo, reports The Wall Street Journal. U.S. government bans oil development in Alaskan Arctic area (5/16/2008) A large swathe of Alaska will be off-limits to oil development under a decision today by the Bureau of Land Management (BLM). Conservationists welcomed the move. Earth's minerals kept CO2 levels in balance prior to humans (4/28/2008) The natural feedback system that has kept Earth's atmospheric carbon dioxide levels finely-balanced for millions of years has been overwhelmed by fossil fuel combustion, reports a new study published in Nature Geoscience. Carbon dioxide, methane levels rise sharply in 2007 (4/23/2008) Atmospheric concentrations of carbon dioxide and methane rose sharply in 2007, according to NOAA. The U.S. weather agency said that global levels of atmospheric carbon dioxide, the primary driver of global climate change, climbed by 0.6 percent, or 19 billion tons in 2007. Methane levels increased by 27 million tons after nearly a decade with little or no increase. Malaysia rejects coal project in Borneo rainforest (4/14/2008) Malaysia has rejected a $408 million coal-fired power plant near a protected rainforest area in Sabah, on the island of Borneo. Mercury from coal-burning hurts the common loon (3/4/2008) A long-term study by the Wildlife Conservation Society, the BioDiversity Research Institute, and other organizations has found and confirmed that environmental mercury--much of which comes from human-generated emissions--is impacting both the health and reproductive success of common loons in the Northeast. American demand for gas, big cars begins to wane (3/3/2008) With crude oil today setting an inflation-adjusted record high, the Wall Street Journal reports that Americans are cutting back on gasoline consumption. Sustainability mandated for biofuels used in the EU (1/24/2008) Biofuels used in the European Union will have meet strict environmental requirements said the head of the E.U.'s energy program on Wednesday. Scientists: cut emissions now to avoid climate tipping point (12/14/2007) Countries need to act soon to cut carbon dioxide emissions if the worst impacts of global warming are to be avoided, warned a panel of scientists speaking Thursday at the fall meeting of the American Geophysical Union in San Francisco. Bloomberg calls for a carbon tax (12/13/2007) New York City mayor and potential U.S. presidential candidate Michael Bloomberg said that carbon cap-and-trade schemes are vulnerable to "special interests, corruption, inefficiencies," and should be replaced by straight carbon taxes, reports the Associated Press. 35-mpg mileage target will save consumers $22 billion a year in gas costs (12/3/2007) The recently passed 35-miles per gallon target for the U.S. car fleet will save American consumers $22 billion a year in gasoline costs assuming an average price of $2.55 according to the Union of Concerned Scientists. However price premiums on fuel-efficient technologies could eat into these savings, reports an article in the Wall Street Journal. Forest carbon does not fully offset fossil carbon (12/3/2007) As policymakers meet in Bali, Indonesia to discuss various mechanisms for mitigating greenhouse emissions, a tropical ecologist from Sri Lanka warns that one ton of forest carbon is not equal to one ton of fossil carbon when it comes to using offsets to fight global warming. The implications: considerably larger forest areas (preferably old growth since it has higher carbon values than plantations) would need to be protected and reforested than are presently anticipated by most policymakers. Largest-ever climate meeting begins in Bali (12/2/2007) In Bali, Indonesia, more than 10,000 delegates, scientists, journalists, and activists from around the world kicked off the largest-ever climate change conference Monday. Organizers hope that the meeting lays the groundwork for a new international pact to replace the Kyoto Protocol when it expires in 2012. Deal reached on U.S. fuel-economy standards (11/30/2007) U.S. lawmakers reached an agreement to boost fuel-economy standards of the nation's cars and light-duty trucks for the first time in more than 30 years. Google aims to make renewable energy sources cheaper than coal (11/28/2007) Tuesday Google announced an initiative to develop electricity from renewable energy sources that will be cheaper than electricity produced from coal. China's coal pollutes the U.S. (11/4/2007) It takes five to 10 days for the pollution from China's coal-fired plants to make its way to the United States, like a slow-moving storm. It shows up as mercury in the bass and trout caught in Oregon's Willamette River. It increases cloud cover and raises ozone levels. And along the way, it contributes to acid rain in Japan and South Korea and health problems everywhere from Taiyuan to the United States. This is the dark side of the world's growing use of coal. Honda sees no future for plug-in hybrid vehicles (10/23/2007) Honda Motor Co. Chief Executive Takeo Fukui said plug-in hybrid gasoline-electric vehicles offered too few environmental benefits to be worth pursing for the Japanese car company, according to the Wall Street Journal. Instead Fukui suggested that improved batteries would be better used for electric vehicles. North Atlantic carbon sinks absorbing less CO2 (10/23/2007) The capacity of the North Atlantic ocean to absorb atmospheric carbon dioxide (CO2) has declined significantly since in the mid 1990s, report researchers from the University of East Anglia. The findings raise concerns that oceans may be slowing their uptake of CO2, potentially worsening the climate impact of greenhouse gas emissions. Comments? 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