The Supreme Court ruled yesterday in a 5 to 4 decision that the Environmental Protection Agency, the director of which is appointed by the president, was amiss in its refusal to admit carbon dioxide is a pollutant and that, under the Clear Air Act, has the authority to regulate auto emissions. Ignoring carbon dioxide is directly related to global warming has allowed the Bush administration to also ignore regulating the greenhouse gas.

“EPA has offered no reasoned explanation for its refusal to decide whether greenhouse gases cause or contribute to climate change,” Justice John Paul Stevens wrote for the majority. The agency “identifies nothing suggesting that Congress meant to curtail EPA’s power to treat greenhouse gases as air pollutants,” the opinion continued.

It appears that the decision could force the EPA to either prove excessive amounts of carbon dioxide is not harmful to the environment or to begin regulating it. It could also mean that states have the right to regulate the greenhouse gas if the Bush administration refuses to do so, opening the door for progressive states like California to take the lead on environmental reform once again.

To raise awareness of the decision and to put a little pressure on the EPA, activist group Environmental Action began an online, grassroots outreach campaign to get people to send a message to encourage the EPA to act (via Green Options).