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jake-head-shot.jpgJake Young is a MD/PhD student at Mount Sinai School of Medicine focusing in Neuroscience. He is due to graduate in 2032. He received a BS and a MS in Biological Sciences from Stanford University -- where he spent most of his time drinking heavily and building vegetable catapults instead of learning information that would now be eminently useful. When he is not failing terrifically to perform his sworn duties, he enjoys watching bad movies, ethnic food, and running.

Pure Pedantry is a blog about science -- social sciences and otherwise -- as well as academic and scientific culture. No one can live on science alone, so I also like to dwell on pop culture, periodically explore the humanities, and indulge in other types of geeky goodness.

Jake is joined periodically by two wonderful guest bloggers: Kara Contreary and Kate Seip. See the About Page.

DISCLAIMERS: 1) Jake Young is not a licensed physician (yet). He is merely a medical student. The information published on this site is not intended for use in medical decision making. Please seek advice from a licensed, medical professional before making any health decisions. 2) The opinions expressed are my own or those of my co-bloggers. They do not represent the views of SEED magazine or the educational establishments we currently attend.

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Supreme Court Agrees to Hear Global Warming Case

Category: Global WarmingScience policy
Posted on: June 27, 2006 12:57 AM, by Jake Young

This could be very interesting:

The Supreme Court agreed Monday to consider whether the Bush administration must regulate carbon dioxide to combat global warming, setting up what could be one of the court's most important decisions on the environment.

The decision means the court will address whether the administration's decision to rely on voluntary measures to combat climate change are legal under federal clean air laws.

...

The administration maintains that carbon dioxide -- unlike other chemicals that must be controlled to assure healthy air -- is not a pollutant under the federal clean air law, and that even if it were the EPA has discretion over whether to regulate it.

A federal appeals court sided with the administration in a sharply divided ruling.

One judge said the EPA's refusal to regulate carbon dioxide was contrary to the clean air law; another said that even if the Clean Air Act gave the EPA authority over the heat-trapping chemical, the agency could choose not to use that authority; a third judge ruled against the suit because, he said, the plaintiffs had no standing because they hadn't proven harm.

The States core argument appears to be that carbon dioxide, as a deleterious chemical present in the atmosphere, falls under the Clean Air Act, and the EPA has a responsibility to regulate it like any pollutant.

Climate politics aside, the federal government does have a point when they say that CO2 isn't a pollutant. Pollutants, at least as I understand the term, are compounds which are directly biologically toxic. CO2 doesn't fit that criterion. I see how you could argue that CO2 is indirectly damaging, but it sounds like stuffing a square peg through a round hole.

As much as some states would like to force EPA regulation, I doubt the remedy is going to end up being judicial. My suspicion is that it is going to require a change of heart in Congress or in the Administration.

In any event, this is definitely a case to watch.

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