Opening briefs were submitted to the U.S. Supreme Court yesterday in what many observers are calling the most important environmental case the Supreme Court has ever considered.

_{Photo courtesy of Kevin Connors}

The landmark case, an appeal of a lower court ruling, is being brought by 12 states, three cities, one territory, and many of the nation’s leading environmental groups and is aimed at forcing the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) to regulate carbon dioxide emissions that contribute to global warming. In June, the U.S. Supreme Court agreed to hear the case during its 2006-2007 session, which will begin the first Monday in October.

The Bush administration claims the EPA has no legal authority under the Clean Air Act to regulate carbon dioxide emissions, because carbon dioxide is not a pollutant. Obviously, the plaintiffs disagree. They argue that the Bush administration is trying to duck its responsibility to regulate automobiles, power plants and industries that spew carbon dioxide into the atmosphere.

"It's really not that complicated," said Tom Dressler, spokesman for the California attorney general, in an interview with the San Francisco Chronicle. "We want the federal government to take its head out of the sand, start performing its statutory duty, and start protecting California and the rest of this nation from the potentially devastating effects of global warming."

David Bookbinder, a Sierra Club attorney who is helping to formulate and coordinate the plaintiffs’ legal arguments, put it more succinctly: "The United States is the largest source of greenhouse gases in the world. If we want to have any hope of avoiding the more dramatic consequences of global warming, we have got to start acting now."

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• U.S. Autos Account for Half of Global Warming Linked to Cars Worldwide
  
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• Record Increase in U.S. Greenhouse Gas Emissions Sparks Global Controversy