Shot across the bow may undermine climate bills

In April 2007, during the presidency of George W. Bush, the U.S. Supreme Court ruled that carbon dioxide and other greenhouse gases are pollutants under the Clean Air Act. But, the court also said the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency must determine if those gases pose a danger to public health and welfare before the agency can regulate them.

The ruling stemmed from the Bush administration’s battle against Massachusetts and other states that sought to lower carbon dioxide emissions from vehicle tailpipes.

On Monday, the Obama administration took a major step toward regulating greenhouse gases, concluding that climate changing pollution threatens the public health and the environment.

EPA Administrator Lisa Jackson said the agency would start drawing up regulations to reduce the emissions of six gases, including carbon dioxide and methane.

Jackson’s announcement triggered a political fire storm — in and out of Congress — which President Obama cannot ignore. At the heart of the argument put forth by the opponents of regulation is that American industry and business, which already are reeling from the global economic recession, will be crippled.

Sen. Blanche Lincoln, D-Ark., chairman of the Senate Agriculture Committee, was quoted by the Washington Post as urging the EPA “to wait for Congress to find a solution.”

But Sen. John F. Kerry, D-Mass., a leading proponent of a Senate climate bill, said the EPA’s announcement sends a clear signal to Congress to “get moving.”

GOP political message

That may well be, but the president and Democrats on Capitol Hill must know that the Republicans have a political message that is resonating with the American people. Their emphasis on the costs associated with the regulation of greenhouse gases, coupled with their contention that the administration is kowtowing to participants at the 192-nation climate conference in Copenhagen, have struck a chord.

The administration has to make the case, in as straightforward a manner as possible, that global warming is real and that the costs of doing nothing to reduce greenhouse emissions will be much higher than adopting the various strategies contained in the energy bill passed by the House and the one pending in the Senate.

As for the climate conference that began Monday, Obama’s presence is not only appropriate, but is necessary. The rest of the world is looking to see whether the United States is willing to do its part to address the causes of global warming.

On Tuesday, the United Nations weather agency reported that this decade is on track to become the warmest since records began in 1850. The agency also said that 2009 could rank among the top five warmest years.

As for the effects of this warming, the United Nations said that from 2007 to this year, the summer melt reduced the Arctic Ocean to its smallest extent ever recorded. In the 2007-2009 International Polar Year, researchers found Antarctica is warming more than previously believed. Almost all glaciers worldwide are retreating.

Nonetheless, the detractors of global warming in the United States are succeeding in scaring the American people into thinking that their way of life is in danger.

President Obama must do what he can to address the concerns of the people.