Supreme Court protects profits over people

I am dismayed by the Supreme Court’s decision in West Virginia v. EPA. With increasingly extreme weather events driven by climate change, I thought that the Supreme Court would rule with the Environmental Protection Agency, and preserve the agency’s most effective tool for reducing greenhouse gas pollution from existing coal- and gas-burning power plants. But instead, the Court sided with the coal executives and far-right politicians who will continue to profit off polluting activities and then use those profits to further block climate action.

The Supreme Court’s decision, in this case, is a huge step in the wrong direction. With scientists warning that it’s imperative to phase out fossil fuels at a faster rate, this should not be the time to make it harder for our government to use the tools that protect our families and communities from climate-disrupting carbon dioxide pollution.

While the news from the Supreme Court is devastating, our country is not out of options when it comes to fighting climate change. EPA still has the authority to control greenhouse gas pollution under the Clean Air Act, and while its most effective approach is now off the table, it can still take action to control harmful climate pollution from dirty power plants. Most importantly, it is time for Congress and the Biden Administration to pass bold climate legislation that will rein in corporate polluters and stop the fossil fuel industry from destroying our planet.

Elwood Garlock

Cedar Rapids