Supreme Greenhouse Challenge Set for Early '14

The Supreme Court agreed today to hear a major case challenging the EPA's greenhouse gas regulations. A handful of industry groups petitioned the court to hear the case, among them the American Petroleum Institute, the American Chemistry Council and the National Association of Manufacturers. All welcomed the court's announcement.

American Petroleum Institute Vice President Harry Ng said the EPA is overreaching by seeking to regulate U.S. manufacturers "in a way that Congress never planned and never intended," and that approach "could have enormous implications on U.S. competitiveness and the prices that consumers pay for fuel and manufactured goods."

The American Chemistry Council said in a statement that it hopes the court will "correct EPA’s egregious misreading of the Clean Air Act, which even the agency concedes leads to absurd results."

Some are painting the Supreme Court announcement as a potential blow to the Obama administration and to environmentalists. That is a reasonable assessement, but potential is the key word. Horses make lousy cart-pushers. The court will hear the case early next year. That's when we'll find out whether that potential has the potential to get real.