Twelve states recently sued the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, forcing the U.S. Supreme Court, for the first time in its history, to wade into the political debate on global warming. On Monday, the United States Supreme Court reached a decision that will benefit hunters and anglers nationwide, and especially anglers in states such as Florida that are most prone to hurricanes and sea-level rise. By a 5-4 vote, the Supreme Court ruled that the EPA has offered no reasonable explanation for its refusal to regulate vehicles’ emissions of carbon dioxide and other greenhouse gases related to global warming. So, the court decided that the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency has the power and responsibility to regulate carbon dioxide emissions from cars.

This doesn’t mean the government will confiscate your SUV or aged two-stroke.

”Quite to the contrary, it will be a lot cheaper for boat owners to tow their boats, because cars and light trucks will become a lot more fuel efficient because of this ruling,” said Jerry Karnas, Regional Outreach Coordinator for the National Wildlife Federation, which submitted an amicus brief (a friend of the court letter) on behalf of wildlife and outdoor enthusiasts.

While the EPA’s authority under the Clean Air Act to regulate carbon dioxide emissions from automobiles was the question at hand, experts postulate that the court would reach a similar decision when an entity sues because of a coal-fired power plant or any other polluter contributing to global warming.

“Again, this is huge for Florida,” said Karnas. “There are four coal-fired power plants in the planning process that would add to the mercury contamination in fishes and the Everglades ecosystem, while they add carbon dioxide to the atmosphere. Floridians will now have much more power to challenge them, and to demand clean energy.”

Indeed, the most important aspect of the Supreme Court’s decision is that it gives individual entities, such as states, municipalities, or environmental advocacy groups legal standing. For example, as the effects of global warming become more pronounced, one of the likely effects is changes to our oceans chemistry and sea-level rise that could decimate coastal habitats. And massive stormwater discharges will likely become more frequent. In fact, climate change and the Army Corps of Engineers failure to anticipate increased hurricanes and precipitation in their Everglades Restoration planning is one the arguments central to legal initiatives attempting to stop discharges down the St. Lucie and Caloosahatchee rivers. For more information, visit www.riverscoalition.org.

“The court decided that entities such as states or communities or environmental groups or fishing and hunting advocates have standing to bring a case if they are seeing negative impacts by symptoms of global warming where they hunt or fish. We can seek redress for those harmful impacts,” Karnas said.