Supreme Court Considers Global Warming Rules Case

"The Supreme Court appeared closely divided Wednesday (11/29/06) over an environmental challenge to the Bush administration's refusal to regulate the greenhouse gases that are believed to cause global warming.

At issue is whether a dozen blue states, led by California and Massachusetts, can spur federal regulators to limit vehicle emissions.

The four most conservative justices sharply questioned whether the states had the right to file the lawsuit against the Environmental Protection Agency; the four liberal justices sided with the states.

The outcome will probably turn on the opinion of Justice Anthony M. Kennedy, a centrist who is often the swing vote. He did not tip his hand during the argument, but the California native joined the court's liberal bloc in June to preserve broad federal regulation of wetlands."

"The justices have at least three options before them.

They could throw out the lawsuit, agreeing that the states lack standing. They could rule that greenhouse gases are "air pollutants" under the Clean Air Act, but leave it to the administration to decide on whether new automobile regulations are required. Or, they could rule that the Clean Air Act requires new regulations because there is a consensus among scientists that greenhouse gases are endangering the public's welfare."

Thanks to Jennifer Alverson