Environment

SCOTUS Rules On Greenhouse Gases

Posted by Michael Link on April 2, 2007 at 11:51 AM

From All Headline News (via gregg)

The U.S. Supreme Court issued a 5-4 ruling to the federal government on Monday to take a new look at regulating carbon dioxide emissions from automobiles. The court said that provisions in the Clean Air Act do give the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency regulatory power over those and other greenhouse gas emissions from cars.

Today's ruling challenges the Bush administration's overwhelming reluctance to avoid issuing regulations that could help control global warming.
[...]
It was the EPA's contention that the Clean Air Act did not give it the authority to regulate emissions from greenhouse gases, a position that the Supreme Court narrowly disagreed with.

And here's a flashback for you, from the Competitive Enterprise Institute: "Some call it pollution. We call it life." The ad isn't satire, I swear.

Comments (13) «

These Republican freaks are just plain nuts. I thought I had seen it all. This is crazier than the fundies and their intelligent design.

I honestly believe they want to kill us. Why do they think people have carbon dioxide detectors in their homes? Do the MSM intend to discuss this? I can't wait.

Who in the hell is the Competive Enterprise Institute? I'm going to do some research. Can't wait to see who is on the board of directors.

1
SandyH on April 2, 2007 at 12:14 PM

Board of Directors

CEI Board of Directors

* William Dunn
President, DUNN Capital Management
[READ BIO >>]


* Michael S. Greve
Resident Scholar, American Enterprise Institute
[READ BIO >>] [EMAIL >> ]

* Leonard Liggio
Vice President, Atlas Economic Research Foundation
[READ BIO >>]

* Thomas Gale Moore
Senior Fellow, Hoover Institution
[READ BIO >>]

* William O'Keefe
President and Founder, Solutions Consulting
[READ BIO >>]

* Frances Smith
Executive Director, Consumer Alert
[READ BIO >>]

* Fred L. Smith, Jr.
President and Founder, Competitive Enterprise Institute,
[READ BIO >>] [EMAIL >> ]

//www.cei.org/pages/board.cfm

2
SandyH on April 2, 2007 at 12:22 PM

Board Member Profile


Fred L. Smith, Jr.
President, CEI

Fred L. Smith, Jr. is the Founder and President of the Competitive Enterprise Institute (CEI), a public interest group dedicated to the principles of free enterprise and limited government active in a wide range of economic and environmental public policy issues. Based in Washington, D.C., CEI works to educate and inform policymakers, journalists, and other opinion leaders on market-based alternatives to regulatory initiatives, ranging from antitrust and insurance to energy and environmental protection, and engages in public interest litigation to protect property rights and economic liberty.

Mr. Smith is a frequent guest on national television and radio programs to discuss and debate regulatory initiatives. He has appeared on ABC's This Week, CNN's Crossfire, the MacNeil/Lehrer Newshour, ABC's 20/20, NPR's Talk of the Nation, and the G. Gordon Liddy Show, among many others. A prolific writer, his writings can be seen in leading newspapers and journals such as the Wall Street Journal, National Review, Economic Affairs, and the Washington Times. Mr. Smith is also columnist for the journal Regulation, and a contributing editor to Liberty. Mr. Smith is co-editor (with Michael Greve) of the book, Environmental Politics: Public Costs, Private Rewards, and has contributed chapters to over one dozen books, including The True State of the Planet, Market Liberalism: A Paradigm for the 21st Century, and Assessing the Reagan Years.

Before founding CEI, Mr. Smith served as the Director of Government Relations for the Council for a Competitive Economy, as a senior economist for Association of American Railroads, and for five years as a Senior Policy Analyst at the Environmental Protection Agency. Mr. Smith has a degree in Mathematics and Political Science from Tulane University where he earned the Arts and Sciences Medal. He has also done graduate work at Harvard, SUNY at Buffalo and the University of Pennsylvania. He married Frances (Bivona) Smith in 1963.

3
SandyH on April 2, 2007 at 12:25 PM

"A public interest group dedicated to the principles of free enterprise and limited government..."
Yeah, right.
Why is is that all this "free" enterprise and "limited" government is costing us quality of life, species extinctions, rising costs of food, fuel and medical care, and the FBI spying where they have no business under Constitutional guarantees in the name of "protection". Back when I was a kid "protection" was a racket run by the Mafia.
More K-street neo-con newspeak. Black is white, poverty is riches, and dying is life.
What worries me is when the phony "centrists" Republi-lites and Blue Dog Republicans start spouting it.

4
Butte on April 2, 2007 at 01:45 PM

Back when I was a kid "protection" was a racket run by the Mafia.

Butte,

We are dealing with the Bush crime family here. The GOP has pushed this 9/11 terris protection scheme about as far as it will go.

Get a load of Mr. Smith's biography. Note that he is not Dr. Smith (although he may resemble the character from Lost in Space).

What does a person with a joint degree in Mathematics and Political Science do besides run numbers for the crime family? This guy doesn't have a doctorate yet the MSM has allowed him question the research of those that do?

It looks like the Association of American Railroads has pretty low standards...they hired somebody who doesn't even have degree in Economics to be their Senior Economist. And we now know why the EPA is all screwed up. Mr. Smith was allowed to be a Senior Policy Analyst with nothing more than a BS?

I hear what you are saying about moderates and blue dogs. Just look at what McCain is trying to pass off as progress in Baghdad. He travels with more securtiy than Michael Jackson.

5
SandyH on April 2, 2007 at 02:33 PM

you may not all be as into the supreme court ruling today on greenhouse gases as i am but it is a big deal in terms of getting started on passing off a livable planet to future generations and it tells us alot about the supreme court:


Justices: EPA Can Control Car Emissions

By MARK SHERMAN, Associated Press Writer

Monday, April 2, 2007

(04-02) 08:59 PDT WASHINGTON, (AP) --

The Supreme Court ordered the federal government on Monday to take a fresh look at regulating carbon dioxide emissions from cars, a rebuke to Bush administration policy on global warming.

In a 5-4 decision, the court said the Clean Air Act gives the Environmental Protection Agency the authority to regulate the emissions of carbon dioxide and other greenhouse gases from cars.

Greenhouse gases are air pollutants under the landmark environmental law, Justice John Paul Stevens said in his majority opinion.

The court's four conservative justices — Chief Justice John Roberts and Justices Samuel Alito, Antonin Scalia and Clarence Thomas — dissented.

---ok so now we know beyond any shadow of a doubt that the four horseman of the apocalypse are these turkeys. forget all the dreams that alito might be good on some issue or other or that roberts might surprise us and be more moderate than was thought. these four are extremists and always will be. it is therefore IMPERATIVE that our senate block any and all bush nominees to the court should one arise in the next two years. it is also IMPERATIVE that we elect a democrat to the presidency in 08 be that obama, hillary, dodd, biden, yancey derringer or the old stand by hand puppet. if we can succeed in these two things we can set the court up to be 5-4 our way for a long, long time to come and the four horsemen will grow old and cranky always going against the interest of the people and for the interest of the rich, the corporate and the powerful and ALWAYS FUCKING LOSING. and we might just live happily ever after.

6
gregg on April 2, 2007 at 02:42 PM

Well, so the environmental protection aganecy can protect the environment. Duh ... what am I missing here? Only dumbbell GOOPERS would say otherwise.

7
rjsnj on April 2, 2007 at 06:33 PM

So, do we to regulate the steam coming out of Inhopf's (obnoxious pug slug Senator) ears ...

Tee, Hee, Hee

8
rjsnj on April 2, 2007 at 06:34 PM

the wheels grind slowly rjsnj, slowly indeed but at least they grind at all.

also by a 9-0 vote today the court ruled that those polluters that were trying to weasel out of putting cleaning devices on old plants must get them on now.

a good day for the environment during the reign of a very bad bunch of people.

9
gregg on April 2, 2007 at 07:08 PM

April Fuel’s Joke

Global warming sunshine desert alliteration, sun singing song penetrating fossil fuels rays, X-rays searing down earthen cancerous skin, skeleton lesions bleaching blister skin radiation!

Shell of soul, cooked inside four shrinking walls, hurricanes rising tides, American global neglect! Corporate Big Brother Republican “At Will” policy, where green blooded religious profits wear suits.

Global warming does not affect Polar Bears, nor does it effect changing erratic weather! Scientific Big Oil facts, say it is pure myth that our oceans are rising in flooded terrain.

Fighting it today, as yesterday’s Clean Water Acts, which today runs freer of Corporate sewage sludge! Fish again swimming on streams of conscience, people navigating clear water, from detergent suds.

April Fuel’s Joke is a Corporate cruel prank that sets religious values against Mother Nature, for the heavens of God’s love is about respect! That one must cherish one’s divine environment, special gift that must be held, in His high regard!

10
dlesterpoet on April 2, 2007 at 08:36 PM

They can say what they want to beautiful scenes and music,but the supreme court said something else.I`m glad this bush pathetic era is closing out!I know there will be constitution battles and in the end we will get back to some form of sanity.

11
virgo on April 2, 2007 at 09:15 PM

Let's see, hmmmm.
Go to Google, type in "impeach bush".
What do you see?
There's 1,660,000 hits; I only looked through the first 6 pages and what did I find?
There's Impeach for Peace, impeachbush.org, Impeach Bush Coalition,impeachbush.tv, ImpeachPAC, AfterDowningStreet,MichaelMoore, thefourreasons.com, democrats.com, impeachnow.org, worldcantwait.org, petitiononline.com, impeachbushcheney.net, 43things.com.
Those were just the sites dedicated to impeaching Bush, that doesn't even count the news articles, the other organizations who also want to impeach Bush who are organized for other purposes, the many many t-shirt sellers who are offering "Impeach Bush" T-shirts and other items in various flavors.
Do we see a trend here?
Maybe there needs to be a web site to consolidate the web sites, and get a unified effort in impeaching Bush.
Where there's smoke there's fire, and we need the fire department big time.
Somebody in Washington really needs to get a clue
How many petitions need to be out there in order to get any action?

12
Butte on April 7, 2007 at 01:35 PM

I've heard a comment to the effect that "Impeaching Bush will wound the government".
This government is already very badly wounded. This government has received several potentially life threatening wounds from the Bush administration.
Before antibiotics, wounds were lanced to drain the pus and corruption so they could heal.
We need to lance the wounds caused by corruption, manipulation of the truth to start an illegal war, the Patriot act, K-street special interest money, incompetent appointees, six years of rubber-stamp legislation, biased federal judge and US attorney appointments, illegal spying on the American People, and special considerations given "good ol' boy" contractors in Iraq.
Lance these wounds so America can heal!
INVESTIGATE! IMPEACH!! INDICT!!!

13
Butte on April 9, 2007 at 01:30 PM


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