Editorial: Clearing the air

Thursday, April 5, 2007 | 7:13 a.m.

Cooler heads prevailed this week when the U.S. Supreme Court ruled against the Bush administration and said the Environmental Protection Agency does, in fact, have the authority to regulate carbon dioxide and other heat-trapping gases emitted by motor vehicles.

Such emissions from the tailpipes of cars and trucks represent nearly one-quarter of all greenhouse gas emissions in the country. Greenhouse gases are so-called because they trap heat in the atmosphere and have contributed to a slow but steady warming of the Earth's climate. Scientists believe that climate change is causing severe weather patterns and threatens the existence of animals such as polar bears and some fish species.

A 12-state coalition led by Massachusetts had petitioned the EPA to control the levels of greenhouse gases in car and truck emissions. But the Bush administration opposed such controls under the preposterous claim that the federal Clean Air Act didn't give the EPA the authority to regulate greenhouse gas emissions from motor vehicles.

The Supreme Court's ruling on Monday rejected the same arguments that have been raised in other lawsuits, including a U.S. Court of Appeals case in which electric utilities are claiming that the EPA does not have regulatory authority over greenhouse gas emissions from power plants.

We support the states that brought the petition and are heartened by the Supreme Court's decision. The EPA not only has the unquestionable authority to regulate the emissions that are accelerating global warming and its detrimental effects, but now also has an undeniable duty to do so.