Free Republic

On October 15, 2013, the US Supreme Court (SCOTUS) granted 'Certiorari' to Petitioners who have been suing the EPA over regulations to control CO2. In 2007, SCOTUS had ruled that CO2 may be considered a pollutant under the Clean Air Act (CAA), provided EPA could demonstrate that continued emission of CO2 would harm 'human health and welfare.' In 2009, EPA published the required Endangerment Finding, which was subsequently attacked on scientific grounds by a collection of plaintiffs. [Full disclosure: SEPP is one of the many plaintiffs involved in this lawsuit.] However, in June 2012, the Court of Appeals for the...

As if Barack Obama didn’t have enough trouble with the progressive revolt this week after the tax compromise, the New York Times reports today on another retreat that will have Obama’s base even further outraged.  Until now, the EPA had threatened to go around a hostile Congress to enforce Obama’s goals on greenhouse-gas emissions, perhaps going as far as to pursue a de facto carbon cap.  Suddenly, after the disastrous midterms, the EPA wants more time to study the science first: The Obama administration is retreating on long-delayed environmental regulations — new rules governing smog and toxic emissions from industrial...