Tuesday, April 03, 2007

From Frisbees to Flatulence

ACHTUNG! Any bad swill or ill-advised hammers may be regulated in the FFFuture as an ‘air pollution agent.’ Read on...

Russ drew Sludge's attention to the Supreme Court's landmark decision yesterday on EPA's authority to regulate greenhouse gas emissions.
Russ contributed the following: Justice Scalia dissented, naturally, and he makes an important observation of interest to the ultimate community in footnote 2, which I quote in full:

"Not only is EPA's interpretation reasonable, it is far more plausible than the Court's alternative. As the Court correctly points out, 'all airborne compounds of whatever stripe,' ante, at 26, would qualify as 'physical, chemical, . . . substance[s] or matter which [are] emitted into or otherwise ente[r] the ambient air,' 42 U. S. C. §7602(g). It follows that everything airborne, from Frisbees to flatulence, qualifies as an 'air pollutant.' This reading of the statute defies common sense."

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