Supreme Court Begins Global Warming Case

Last week I saw a motley crew of people in a long line in front of the Supreme Court. I wondered what could draw such a variety of citizens to one place of protest? I looked in the NY Times for a clue. “Ah”, I realized, “its the environment”.

A few months ago I wrote about the upcoming Supreme Court case concerning Global Warming and on the 28th and 29th of November the Court began their process to determine whether they are going to even hear this case. The plaintiffs are organized from Mass. and are looking to sue the government over its lack of responsibility in regulating emissions that add to, or cause, global warming.

The plaintiffs are questioning the meaning of the Clean Air Act and why carbon dioxide does not fall under emission regulations. They question why the EPA does not regulate more to control the U.S. contribution to global warming.

Judges are divided. One contends that there is no evidence that car emissions contribute to global warming. A few feel that there is enough evidence to give the group standing, including the argument that sea level rise is robbing some states of coastal real estate.

They real issue for me is, if the Court hears this case, are they making a ruling about the science of global warming and climate change? Please check out the article.

car, carbon, climate change, emissions, epa, fall, Global Warming, NYTimes

Jennifer Veilleux is a former Boren Fellow and visiting scholar at Central European University and the Hungarian Academy of Sciences. She was assistant editor International Politics and has contributed to E/The Environmental Magazine and The Tamarak. She currently lives in Washington, DC where she is associate editor of a university press.

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