Global Warming- An International Effort

Justices' First Brush With Global Warming

Recently, the issue of global warming has made its way to the Supreme Court. The concern was over the Clean Air Act and the impact of automobile emissions on the environment. Some Justices were doubtful that the emissions from vehicles is the key to slowing global warming, citing that only about 6% of carbon dioxide emissions come from automobiles. Assistant Attorney General of MA James Milkey argued, “Even small reductions can be significant.” The Supreme Court did not see that the danger was imminent and chose not to exercise any authority. Even if it could, it would most likely only encouraged the EPA to reconsider its position. The role of the Supreme Court as part of the federal government is highlighted in this article. It is made clear that the Supreme Court does not exist to impose regulations, but to rule on interpretation of existing regulations.

Environmental issues have been widely understood to be a global problem. Cooperation of many nations is required to bring about serious changes. During the proceedings, Chief Justice Roberts offered the observation, “That assumes everything else is going to remain constant, though, right? It assumes there isn’t going to be a greater contribution of greenhouse gases from economic development in China and other places that’s going to displace whatever marginal benefit you get here.” Acid rain was one environmental problem that was attacked on an international level in the 1960’s and 70’s. Agreements to reduce polluting emissions have resulted in a large decrease in acid rain damage. The Geneva Convention on Long-range Transboundary Air Pollution of 1979 was signed by 51 countries in an effort to reduce sulfur oxides and nitric oxides in the air. However, this only came over a hundred years after acid rain was discovered. With the rate of global warming, we cannot let too much time elapse before we address the issue on the international scale.

The Founding Fathers intended for the United States to gain its independence through warfare, and then continue to live in isolation and freedom. The U.S. is forever connected to the world’s environment and therefore must first work to improve the air quality at home and then lead the rest of the world in reducing emissions around the globe.