Global Warming and Originalism: The Role of the EPA in the Obama Administration

Abstract

Anthropogenic warming will devastate the world if it is not abated. Abating such warming will require a long-term strategy that starts with immediate and drastic action in the form of new laws designed to restrict greenhouse gas emissions. In the wake of Massachusetts v. EPA, President Obama is likely to issue an executive order requiring the EPA Administrator to issue strict regulations addressing greenhouse gas emissions from mobile sources under the Clean Air Act. However, such executive action will surely spark a flood of lawsuits challenging the scope of executive power. This Note addresses the merits of such lawsuits and uses unitary executive theory to argue that the President’s executive power includes the power to control the EPA rule-making process.