Last week, the Supreme Court released their decision on the climate action case, West Virginia v. EPA. The ruling limits the power of the EPA to regulate power plant emissions including carbon dioxide and other greenhouse gasses that play a major role in climate change.
The dissenting justices captured it perfectly, noting that the ruling strips the EPA of the ability “to respond to the most pressing environmental challenge of our time.”
Last week’s ruling significantly reduces the Environmental Protection Agency’s ability to regulate carbon emissions from existing power plants under the Clean Air Act. With carbon emissions already dangerously high, and projected to rise further, this ruling is a major setback in the effort to mitigate the worst effects of climate change. Here in the Upper Midwest, the effects of climate change include an increase in severe weather events, both flooding and droughts, heightened risk of wildfires, changes to our ecosystem, and stress on public infrastructure including power grids. All of these events have significant humanitarian and economic consequences.
The Supreme Court’s ruling is out of touch with the science of climate change and is in contrast to the opinion of the majority of Americans, two thirds of whom think the government needs to do more to address climate change.
We encourage you to reach out to your representatives in Congress and demand that they take action to implement climate change mitigation strategies immediately. We also encourage you to find and share new ways to support sensible, science-based approaches to counter the effects of climate change in all aspects of your life, and to share your love for the natural world with your community. We thank you for your partnership in supporting the conservation work we do at Belwin to maintain healthy, natural habitats that are the foundation of our outreach and education efforts.
In the face of this ruling, Belwin remains committed to our mission of connecting people to the natural world through education and inclusive spaces, and engaging our community in conservation.
For more information on how to contact your local representatives, and what this decision means for each of us, see the following links below:
The science is clear: We need strong climate policies now
A Major Setback for Climate: West Virginia v. EPA
What the Supreme Court’s West Virginia v. the EPA ruling means to public health
