Tom Reilly made the news this past weekend as one of the Attorneys General who brought suit to the Environmental Protection Agency under the Bush administration for refusing to regulate greenhouse gasses. The EPA had earlier rejected a petition from a nonprofit group who had requested new controls on carbon dioxide. A US Court of Appeals panel rejected the suit, but Reilly plans to bring it before the full appeals court.
"With each day of inaction, the problem of global warming worsens," Reilly said. "We will continue to fight to compel the federal government to use its legal authority to address this serious problem."Now, I know Reilly hasn't really begun campaigning for governor in earnest, but when he does, he'd do well to emphasize these cases where he's fought against the Bush administration, particularly on something as important as global warming. This is an easy way to shore up some support with active Democrats and scientific-minded Independents who are tired of the Bush administrations repeated denials of global warming. After all, Reilly won't lose any votes in Massachusetts by opposing the president, and he could use that as a signal to those Democrats on his left that he's willing to fight for them. If the race for the nomination tightens up, this could convince some progressives not to jump on the Deval Patrick bandwagon.
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Reilly said the states were disappointed by the ruling but "heartened" that Tatel, the only judge to look at the issue of EPA's legal authority on greenhouse gases, "firmly rejected EPA's claim."
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