"WASHINGTON — A federal appeals court on Tuesday upheld a finding by the Environmental Protection Agency that heat-trapping gases from industry and vehicles endanger public health, dealing a decisive blow to companies and states that had sued to block agency rules."
"A three-judge panel of the United States Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia declared that the agency was 'unambiguously correct' that the Clean Air Act requires the federal government to impose limits once it has determined that emissions are causing harm.
The judges unanimously dismissed arguments from industry that the science of global warming was not well supported and that the agency had based its judgment on unreliable studies. 'This is how science works,' they wrote. 'The E.P.A. is not required to reprove the existence of the atom every time it approaches a scientific question.'
In addition to upholding the E.P.A.’s so-called endangerment finding, the court let stand related rules setting limits on greenhouse gas emissions from cars and limiting emissions from stationary sources. Opponents had also challenged the agency’s timetable for enforcement and its rules singling out big polluters, but the court said the plaintiffs lacked the standing to do so."
Matthew L. Wald reports for the New York Times June 26, 2012.
SEE ALSO:
"Federal Court Panel Upholds EPA Rules Aimed at Global Warming" (McClatchy)
"Court Upholds EPA's Right to Regulate CO2" (Mother Jones)
"Court Upholds EPA's Greenhouse Gas Rules" (Reuters)
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