Setback to the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency

Environmentalists everywhere were saddened that the U.S. Supreme Court dealt a blow to the Environmental Protection Agency with its recent ruling invalidating the EPA’s regulation of mercury and other toxic chemicals that are emitted from power plants.  But at the same time, as much as I hate to say it, the ruling is a validation of common sense.

The EPA’s position was that it could do its thing without regard to the costs incurred by the power plants.  Really?  How smart was that?  Obviously we don’t want cancer, mass extinctions, and profound environmental damage.  But wouldn’t basic rationality have dictated that we at least consider the costs associated with minimizing them?

The decision doesn’t mean that the EPA has no jurisdiction in matters like these, but it does mean that they have to start over, and now contemplate the cost as a factor before making a call on placing a limit on emissions.

Winning these battles is hard enough without arming our enemies with lethal weaponry.