I am furious with the Supreme Court’s decision in West Virginia v. EPA. With increasingly extreme weather driven by climate change, now more than ever it is imperative to eliminate fossil fuels as fast as we possibly can. 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. 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.

While the news from the Supreme Court is devastating, our country is not out of options when it comes to fighting climate change. The EPA still has authority to control greenhouse gas pollution under the Clean Air Act, and 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.

Emma Brown
Portland