Congress can still act to aid climate — Carol Steinhart | Letters to the Editor

The debate over the ramifications of the U.S. Supreme Court’s hog-tying of the Environmental Protection Agency makes it clear that, though the world hasn’t ended, things did get more difficult.

We can’t leave everything to President Joe Biden and the EPA. Rules and regulations alone can’t meet necessary climate goals. But the everyday people who are getting the ideas, developing the strategies and doing the work can meet them. And as Tom Still reported in his recent column, “Clean energy key for growth,” a lot is going on there.

The federal government still must help. The Supreme Court gave Congress a hint: Pass climate legislation and speak specifically about what federal agencies are authorized to do. Congress has neither acted nor spoken, but some good ideas are afloat and progress is possible. That a substantial majority of Americans of all political persuasions want meaningful climate action is promising, and it emphasizes the importance of the approaching midterm elections.

The federal government has jurisdiction over issues such as climate change. These issues cross state borders to avoid a patchwork of incompatible, confusing and counterproductive regulations and approaches. The Supreme Court unleashed confusion, and Washington must develop an enforceable, unifying policy. Within this policy, other levels of government and the private sector can find and implement the answers.