Your Land. Your Voice.

FROM: Alaska Wilderness League
DATE: April 5, 2007
SUBJECT: AlaskaWild Update #258

Quote of the Week:
"We are approaching critical, political mass for taking bold steps this Congress to address the twin problems of global warming and energy independence. We now have industry and business leaders, the scientific community, and politicians from both sides of the aisle standing together in a grand coalition calling for meaningful action on global warming."  -- Congressman Ed Markey (D-MA), March 20, 2007

HEADLINES
CLIMATE CRISIS ACTION DAY BRINGS THOUSANDS TO CAPITOL HILL
SUPREME COURT RULES THAT GOVERNMENT CAN REGULATE CO²
 

CLIMATE CRISIS ACTION DAY BRINGS THOUSANDS TO CAPITOL HILL
On Tuesday, March 20, Climate Crisis Action Day marked the largest U.S. day of action for raising awareness to stop global warming and protect America’s Arctic Refuge.  Thousands of concerned citizen activists from 47 states and parts of Canada gathered on the West Front of the U.S. Capitol in Washington, DC to hear about the impacts of global warming around the nation and Canada, followed by lobbying their members of Congress for permanent protection of America's Arctic Refuge and a mandatory cut in the greenhouse gases that contribute to global warming.  Lobby visits were pre-arranged for the activists for dozens of members of Congress, with some members meeting over 50 constituents at one time advocating for permanent protection for America’s Arctic Refuge and global warming legislation. 

Speakers at the event included Senators Bernie Sanders (I-VT), John Kerry (D-MA), Barbara Boxer (D-CA), and Representatives Ed Markey (D-MA), Mike Honda (D-CA), Jay Inslee (D-WA), and Henry Waxman (D-CA).  The crowd was also treated to first-hand accounts from Alaska Natives on the impacts of global warming taking place now in the Arctic. Representatives from the Gwich’in, Inupiat, and Yup’ik tribes all spoke, in addition to local government officials, youth and student representatives, and representatives from the faith and scientific communities.

"How far behind are we?" asked Senator Kerry, "Across the nation companies are doing this. Communities are doing this," said Kerry. "There is money to be made, and jobs to be created in response to climate change, and that's the message we need to take with us."

The legislation that citizens were advocating for on Climate Crisis Action Day included HR 1590, the Safe Climate Act, and HR 39, the Udall-Eisenhower Arctic Wilderness Act. 

For pictures of the event, and to upload your own if you were there, please go to: http://www.flickr.com/groups/climatecrisisaction.

 

SUPREME COURT RULES THAT GOVERNMENT CAN REGULATE CO²
On April 2, the U.S. Supreme Court ruled 5-4 that the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) can and should regulate carbon-dioxide and other pollutants that cars produce.  Prior to this decision, the EPA declined to set limits on automobile exhaust gases, and contended that it did not have the authority to regulate C0² emissions from cars.  The new ruling notes that U.S. vehicles are by no means the biggest source of atmospheric pollution, but that the billions of tons of carbon dioxide they produce are a "meaningful" part of the global-warming trend. 

"EPA has offered no reasoned explanation for its refusal to decide whether greenhouse gases cause or contribute to climate change. Its action was therefore "arbitrary, capricious, . . . or otherwise not in accordance with law," wrote Justice John Paul Stevens, for the majority.

"[Now] the nation’s highest court has set the White House straight. Carbon dioxide is an air pollutant, and the Clean Air Act gives EPA the power to start cutting the pollution from new vehicles that is wreaking havoc with our climate,” said David Doniger, the lead attorney for the Natural Resources Defense Council. 

The court ruling does not order any specific regulatory action, but legal analysts say it opens the door for future cases that may do so.  Senator Barbara Boxer (D-CA) says lawmakers on Capitol Hill will be watching the administration closely.

"If they don't do what they need to do what they have the power to do, we will do it with or for them," said Senator Barbara Boxer (D-CA).

The government questioned whether it was authorized to regulate automobile emissions, but White House deputy press secretary Dana Perino said, "Now that the Supreme Court has settled that matter for us, we are going to have to analyze it and see where we go from there."

The Supreme Court’s decision comes at a time when Congress is shifting into high gear on new legislation to cap and reduce global warming pollution from all major sources across the economy.