Supreme Court Puts EPA in Charge of Greenhouse Gases

In what is being called a groundbreaking decision, the Supreme Court narrowly (5-4) ruled yesterday that the EPA has the authority under the Clean Air Act to regulate greenhouse gases known to cause global warming. In fact, the Court stated that the agency must exercise that authority or provide scientific proof that carbon dioxide and other greenhouse gases do not contribute to global warming. Environmental Defense President Fred Krupp says that the Court has done its job, but that “…if we’re really going to fix climate change, Congress must pass a cap on carbon pollution, and soon.” Environmental Defense was a plaintiff in the case.

What does this have to do with us, besides the fact that most people who are socially conscious enough to worry about where their food comes from are also worried about global warming? Well, we’ve blogged on this one before, but it bears repeating…Last November, the United Nations Food and Agriculture Organisation (FAO) released a study that linked industrial agriculture to climate change. In fact, according to the report, livestock production creates more greenhouse gases than transportation (in addition to being a major source of land degradation and water pollution). And of course, you can add the cost of transportation to the equation if animal products are not sourced locally…

Maybe next year Environmental Defense will be calling for an industrial agriculture cap!