Supreme Court Limits EPA, Nikola Founder Nixes Share Increases And How Climate Change Hurts Harvests

This week’s Current Climate, which every Saturday brings you the latest news about the business of sustainability. Sign up to get it in your inbox every week.

On Thursday, the Supreme Court ruled in the case of West Virginia vs the Environmental Protection Agency. The case involved a challenge by several states and coal companies against the EPA over its ability to regulate power plant emissions by “generation shifting” – that is, requiring plants to actually change the method of how they produce power, such as moving from coal to natural gas or solar. The Supreme Court opted to decide on the matter, despite the fact that the EPA hadn’t actually produced any rules yet.

In a 6-3 ruling, the Court held that the EPA’s power to regulate emissions under the Clean Air Act were not so expansive as to include generation shifting, finding that the agency would need explicit authorization from Congress in order to hold that power. “Capping carbon dioxide emissions at a level that will force a nationwide transition away from the use of coal to generate electricity may be a sensible ‘solution to the crisis of the day,’” Chief Justice John Roberts wrote in the majority opinion. “But it is not plausible that Congress gave EPA the authority to adopt on its own such a regulatory scheme.”

In a dissenting opinion joined by Justices Breyer and Sotomayor, Elena Kagan wrote that the Court’s opinion amounted to legislation, arguing that Congress had delegated the power to curb air pollution–including carbon emissions–to the EPA, and that it would be the proper purview of Congress to limit the agency’s authority if it disagreed with its policies. “[T]he Court today prevents congressionally authorized agency action to curb power plants’ carbon dioxide emissions,” Kagan wrote. “The Court appoints itself—instead of Congress or the expert agency—the decisionmaker on climate policy. I cannot think of many things more frightening.”

The Big Read

Here’s The Latest Data On Climate And Food And It’s Not Good

As a devastating and historic drought from Illinois to Texas to California grinds on, sophisticated mapping and data projection bring more bad news: Agricultural areas are among the places in the U.S. experiencing the highest temperature increases. Most affected are almonds, olive oil and other specialty produce from California’s Central Valley, as well as citrus, grape and salad farms elsewhere in the state. Row crop farmers harvesting corn and soybeans in Arkansas and other midwestern states are also impacted. Read more here.

Discoveries And Innovations

Researchers studying ice cores from Tibetan glaciers found nearly 1,000 distinct new species of microorganisms. Previous studies have found ancient microorganisms frozen in ice can still be infectious, raising concerns about potential new diseases caused by melting glaciers.

Nearly a quarter of the world’s population lives in an area at risk of flooding and almost all are in low- and middle-income countries, according to a study published on Tuesday.

The London borough of Camden has launched a new air quality sensor network that provides significantly higher resolutions and refreshes much more quickly than the area’s existing network.

New York based company Windmill has developed a quiet, energy-efficient air conditioner that also reduces refrigerant pollution.

Researchers at Johns Hopkins University have discovered how last year’s severe heat and severe drought interacted in the American southwest, which caused ecological impacts to the region and increased wildfire risks. Climate change is expected to exacerbate these risks going forward.