David Bookbinder, from the Sierra Club, one of the groups bringing the action, said
''Under the Bush administration, the EPA (Environmental Protection Agency) has found time to weaken or threaten many crucial environmental protections that Americans take for granted,'....But it can't find time to get serious about the most pressing environmental problem in the world's history.''

There is also worrying news on two fronts in the climate change issue. First, melting of the Arctic ice during the summer of 2002 was greater than than it has been in decades, by the end of the summer there was only 2 million square miles of ice, compared to a recent average at that time of year of 2.4.
The US Dept. of Energy has also reported that the use of renewable energy sources has reduced, this largely explained by droughts which reduced the generation of hydroelectric power and the retiring of some solar power generation equipment bought during previous oil crises of the 70s and early 80s. Lets hope worries about and oil price rise during a possible war in Iraq might induce the same kind of panic induced common sense !