At the beginning of October, the Supreme Court declined to block two Biden administration environmental regulations set to protect U.S. citizens from polluting industries, the Associated Press reports.
These regulations come from the Environmental Protection Agency and restrict the release of methane and mercury. Mercury is a well-known toxin that causes "tremors, insomnia, memory loss, neuromuscular effects, headaches, and cognitive and motor dysfunction," per the World Health Organization. Methane increases the risk of respiratory conditions such as asthma, and it's a potent heat-trapping gas playing a significant role in the overheating of our planet.
The EPA has historically regulated the levels of pollution that industries were allowed to release into the environment, and there were already decade-old limits in place. However, industry groups and conservative states have argued the EPA is overstepping its authority with the updated regulations, per the AP.
A third EPA regulation, which would directly address heat-trapping gases from coal-burning power plants, is still being examined.
All of these rules are part of a push by the Biden administration's EPA to reduce the pollution, including planet-warming gases, being released into our atmosphere. The Biden administration as a whole has thrown itself into this effort, creating incentives for Americans to choose electric cars and make eco-friendly updates to their homes.
All of this effort is badly needed, as the current levels of pollution are heating up the Earth and causing an increase in natural disasters — not to mention the direct effects on human health.
EPA spokesperson Remmington Belford said the agency believes stricter regulations are in line with the currently available technology for preventing pollution, fall within the EPA's authority, and will be good for both the health of Americans and the climate, per the AP.
In particular, Belford said the rule about mercury and other airborne toxins "will ensure that the nation's coal-fired power plants meet up-to-date standards for hazardous air pollutants."
As for the third rule about carbon pollution, senior attorney at Natural Resources Defense Council David Doniger said, "The court should do the same with the effort to block EPA's power plant carbon pollution standards, which comply with the very directions the court gave it in 2022," per the AP.
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