States Ask Supreme Court for Emissions Aid By JOHN HEILPRIN, Associated Press Writer
Fri Mar 3, 8:42 PM ET
A group of states, cities and advocacy organizations appealed to the Supreme Court on Friday to get involved in a fight with the Bush administration over carbon dioxide emissions from cars and trucks.
The group, which includes 12 states ranging from Maine to California, the cities of Baltimore, New York City and Washington, and the Pacific island American Samoa, was rebuffed last year by the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia.
Those judges ruled that the Environmental Protection Agency acted properly when it rejected a nonprofit group's petition asking the government to regulate carbon dioxide and other vehicle pollutants that scientists say trap heat in the atmosphere like a greenhouse.
The EPA's decision was based on an August 2003 opinion from the agency's top lawyer, who said it lacked the authority to regulate greenhouse gases. That reversed a Clinton administration legal opinion.
But the states argued in a petition to the high court that the case "goes to the heart of EPA's statutory responsibilities to deal with the most pressing environmental problem of our time," and that delaying regulations to curb global warming from fossil-fuel burning by cars and trucks will have serious potential consequences.
A growing number of scientific studies bolster the theory that increased levels of carbon dioxide, methane and other gases are accumulating in the atmosphere, where they trap heat and raise the earth's average temperature.
"If ever there was a case that warranted Supreme Court review, this is it," said Massachusetts Attorney General Tom Reilly, whose state is helping lead the charge.
Other states challenging the EPA in this case are Connecticut, Illinois, New Jersey, New Mexico, New York, Oregon, Rhode Island, Vermont and Washington. The advocacy groups include Friends of the Earth, Greenpeace and the Union of Concerned Scientists.
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