Carbon Dioxide Politics: Blue States Sue Again

New York, California and eight other states are suing EPA again over refusing to regulate carbon dixode emissions from power plants. New York Attorney General Eliot Spitzer is the lead plaintiff in this new litigation as he was in the old litigation that was dismissed last year by the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit. Of course, Congress has refused to pass carbon dioxide legislation and EPA refuses to list it with the other six criteria pollutants (sulfur dioxide, nitrogen oside, ozone, carbon monoxide, particulate matter, and lead). Mercury was recently added to the list for the first time under the Bush administration.

The new litigation revisits the question of whether EPA has the authority to regulate carbon dioxide, which is the leading greenhouse gas. The other litigants include: New York City, the District of Columbia, Connecticut, Massachusetts, Maine, New Mexico, Oregon, Rhode Island, Vermont, Wisconsin and three environmental groups. (photo just for show. Carbon dioxide is colorless)