Richard S. wrote:The law doesn't specifically address greenhouse gases but instead was intended to reduce pollution like lead and particulate matter. CO2 wasn't even on the table when it was enacted. While they have the authority this is something that needs to be addressed by Congress because of the enormous impact it will have across our entire economy.
I agree, it is a stretch to regulate CO2 under the clean air laws, because that was not specifically envisioned when the laws were made. The problem with CO2 is, we don't know what its effects will be. Higher CO2 levels DO raise average world temperatures -- there's eons of geological evidence for that. There will be winners and losers when that happens. Some places will get wetter, some dryer, some hotter, some cooler. For example, ironically, much of the Sahara Desert resulted from LOWER temperatures in the region. Who'd of thunk it? Maybe more CO2 will avoid the next ice age. We don't know. The regulations seek to keep climate unchanged, when maybe we should be embracing higher CO2 rather than fighting it. But we don't know.