Conservative Supreme Court May Kill EPA's Ability To Regulate Pollution
Published at : November 02, 2021
Late last week, the US Supreme Court agreed to take up a case brought by Republican leaders and polluting industries that could severely limit the EPA's ability to regulate pollution from the fossil fuel industry. Donald Trump already tried to make this a reality during his administration, and now that the Court is squarely in the pocket of the Republican Party, the chances of the EPA retaining their power to protect us are incredibly slim. Ring of Fire's Farron Cousins explains what's happening.
Link - https://www.alternet.org/2021/10/supreme-court-epa/
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*This transcript was generated by a third-party transcription software company, so please excuse any typos.
Late last week, the United States Supreme Court made a decision to hear a case that could absolutely strip the environmental protection agency of what little power the organization has left. Specifically, the Supreme Court has agreed to take up a case brought by Republican legislatures and of course, coal companies, arguing that the EPA has essentially overstepped its limits with what kind of pollution it can regulate via the clean air act. Specifically, these Republicans and the fossil fuel industries who filed this lawsuit don't want certain pollutants to be regulated by the EPA because they claim, this is a violation of interstate commerce. They're trying to use the commerce clause against us, saying that you can't regulate it here because we also send energy over to the state next door. We're sending it out to multiple states. And by regulating this, you are there by affecting interstate commerce, which is something you're constitutionally not allowed to do.
The problem with this is that that's not a horrible legal argument. You know, the ramifications for the United States, for the, you know, people who are going to die because of the increased pollution. The EPA already estimated that after repealing the Obama clean energy act, you were going to have 3,400 people extra per year die from increased pollution. But the legal argument is relatively strong. They make a good point and that's the worst part of all of this. And of course we have a six, three conservative Supreme Court. I have very little doubt which direction these individuals are going to go on this issue. So if that happens, if all of the horrible steps along the way get fulfilled, the EPA will lose its most important power, which is to protect United States citizens from pollution, especially what's coming from these coal fired power plants.
And the coal industry is the one who joined in with Republicans to file the lawsuit in the first place. Coal is a dying industry. Gutting the EPA is not going to solve the coal industry's problems. But what it will do as I already pointed out is kill more people. 3,400 people per year is the estimate from the EPA itself and that, by the way, was from Donald Trump's Republican lobbyists controlled EPA. Even they said, we do this, which they did, we're going to kill 3,400 people per year. And that's where we're headed. And if the EPA Loses this power to regulate certain pollutants, we can probably look forward to more than 3,400 people a year going to an early grave because of this corporate pollution that is now officially because of this lawsuit brought to you, not just by the fossil fuel industry, but by the Republican party itself.
Link - https://www.alternet.org/2021/10/supreme-court-epa/
Become a member today!: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCYWIEbibRcZav6xMLo9qWWw/join
Support us by becoming a monthly patron on Patreon, and help keep progressive media alive!: https://www.patreon.com/TheRingofFire
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Spread the word! LIKE and SHARE this video or leave a comment to help direct attention to the stories that matter. And SUBSCRIBE to stay connected with Ring of Fire's video content!
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*This transcript was generated by a third-party transcription software company, so please excuse any typos.
Late last week, the United States Supreme Court made a decision to hear a case that could absolutely strip the environmental protection agency of what little power the organization has left. Specifically, the Supreme Court has agreed to take up a case brought by Republican legislatures and of course, coal companies, arguing that the EPA has essentially overstepped its limits with what kind of pollution it can regulate via the clean air act. Specifically, these Republicans and the fossil fuel industries who filed this lawsuit don't want certain pollutants to be regulated by the EPA because they claim, this is a violation of interstate commerce. They're trying to use the commerce clause against us, saying that you can't regulate it here because we also send energy over to the state next door. We're sending it out to multiple states. And by regulating this, you are there by affecting interstate commerce, which is something you're constitutionally not allowed to do.
The problem with this is that that's not a horrible legal argument. You know, the ramifications for the United States, for the, you know, people who are going to die because of the increased pollution. The EPA already estimated that after repealing the Obama clean energy act, you were going to have 3,400 people extra per year die from increased pollution. But the legal argument is relatively strong. They make a good point and that's the worst part of all of this. And of course we have a six, three conservative Supreme Court. I have very little doubt which direction these individuals are going to go on this issue. So if that happens, if all of the horrible steps along the way get fulfilled, the EPA will lose its most important power, which is to protect United States citizens from pollution, especially what's coming from these coal fired power plants.
And the coal industry is the one who joined in with Republicans to file the lawsuit in the first place. Coal is a dying industry. Gutting the EPA is not going to solve the coal industry's problems. But what it will do as I already pointed out is kill more people. 3,400 people per year is the estimate from the EPA itself and that, by the way, was from Donald Trump's Republican lobbyists controlled EPA. Even they said, we do this, which they did, we're going to kill 3,400 people per year. And that's where we're headed. And if the EPA Loses this power to regulate certain pollutants, we can probably look forward to more than 3,400 people a year going to an early grave because of this corporate pollution that is now officially because of this lawsuit brought to you, not just by the fossil fuel industry, but by the Republican party itself.
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