I just got real busy ;-)... supreme court rules greenhouse gas is a pollutant

This just in: the Bush administration must regulate carbon dioxide.
So says the Supreme Court in a ruling today on the case brought by 12 states and 13 environmental groups and argued by the Massachusetts Attorney General's office. (via SusHI)

By a 5-4 vote, the Court said that EPA "has offered no reasoned explanation" for its refusal to regulate carbon dioxide and other emissions from new cars and trucks that contribute to climate change.

This is a huge defeat for the Bush administration, which had argued that it lacked the power to regulate such emissions, and it is expected to have far-reaching implications for regulating greenhouse gases in the United States.

The Court found that greenhouse gases are a pollutant and ruled that EPA has the power under the Clean Air Act to regulate greenhouse gas emissions that spur global warming.

The Court ordered federal environmental officials to re-examine their refusal to limit emissions of the gases from cars and trucks.

Justice John Paul Stevens, writing for the court majority, said EPA's decision was "arbitrary, capricious or otherwise not in accordance with law."

In sending the case back for further proceedings, Stevens said the high court did not decide which policy the EPA must follow.

Said Stevens: "We hold only that EPA must ground its reasons for action or inaction in the statute."