Reaffirming the obvious today, the U.S. Supreme Court again concluded that carbon dioxide is an air pollutant that is subject to the Clean Air Act's regulatory control. The U.S. Supreme Court also noted that the job of safeguarding Americans from power plant pollution rests under the jurisdiction of the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA).
The court ruling provides the Obama Administration with the political space to "move forward with meaningful protections from coal-fired power plants and other sources of industrial pollution."
But the assault on the EPA's ability to regulate carbon dioxide emissions alongside other harmful industrial pollution is hardly over.
Big Coal is a special interest behemoth on Capitol Hill and stands to lose substantial amounts of money if the EPA seeks to adopt strong air pollutant standards to protect the American people.
So while the U.S. Supreme Court decision is a momentous occasion for Americans who value their health and that of their environment, the battle for the health of America is still ongoing.
Fortunately, the will of the American people is stronger than the lobbying power of Big Coal, and as more Americans have realized the dangers of toxic air pollutants, the days of business-as-usual have become an even more distant reality for Big Coal and its allies.
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