THE UNIVERSITY DAILY KANSAN
TUESDAY DECEMBER 5 2006
NEWS
3A
》POLITICS
States petition EPA
U.S. Supreme Court to hear greenhouse gases case
BY ERIN CASTANEDA
Environmentalists' battle with the Environmental Protection Agency to classify greenhouse gases as an air pollutant went to the U.S. Supreme Court for the first time last week.
Several states have petitioned the EPA to regulate carbon dioxide emissions from new vehicles under a provision of the Clean Air Act. Carbon dioxide is the most common greenhouse gas contributing to global warming.
"Climate change poses as many threats to us as on the coasts," said Karl Brooks, professor of environmental law. "We're at a risk here even in the center of the country."
He said global warming would make rainfall more erratic, which would negatively affect agriculture and irrigation in the state.
Robert Glickman, professor of law said the EPA denied the petition, claiming that it didn't have the power to regulate emissions and that it was premature to regulate them now.
Glicksman said the Supreme Court would decide in July whether the federal Clean Air Act authorized the EPA to regulate greenhouse gas emissions or whether the EPA abused its discretion by refusing to
regulate vehicle emissions.
Deputy Solicitor General Gregory Garre represented the Bush administration and said the EPA was right not to take action because of the uncertainty about global climate change.
Glickman said there was a chance the Supreme Court wouldn't get to the core issue because the Court first must decide whether the states could prove they had suffered injury as a result of the EPAs inaction.
"The threshold issue in the Supreme Court is whether the states have standing to sue." Glicksman said. "I think it's going to be a very close call. It's likely to be a 5-4 vote with Justice Kennedy being the decision vote." Glicksman said.
The justices are split on the issue. Justice Samuel Alito and Chief Justice John Roberts said that the reduction in greenhouse gases would be too small, while Justice David Souter said that any reduction would help.
Glickman said he thought the EPA should regulate carbon dioxide emissions. He said if it didn't have the authority, Congress should give it the authority. The EPA's approach was consistent with the Bush administration's decision that it was too early to make regulations.
Glicksman said.
Brooks said it would be interesting to see what the Supreme Court decided because the court was composed of people with strong political views not sympathetic to environmental quality.
Brooks said the science community thought the Bush administration was out of touch with science.
"The case has the potential to be the most important environmental law decision made in the last 20 years," he said.
Garre said if the justices approved the state's request, EPA regulation of emissions could lead to the regulation of power plants, causing a potential loss to the U.S. economy.
According to the Kansas Energy Information Network, Kansas plans to build several power plants in the next few years.
Brooks said instead of building new plants, the Kansas could encourage the creation of new electricity by conserving current energy.
Kansan staff writer Erin Castaneda can be contacted at ecastaneda@ kansan.com. The Associated Press contributed to this story.
Edited by Aly Barland
>> WEATHER
Another day passes without power in St. Louis
BY BETSY TAYLOR ASSOCIATED PRESS
ST LOUIS — People slept among strangers and browsed a little longer in lighted bookstores during their search for warm surroundings Monday, the fifth day of a blackout caused by a winter storm.
After staying at a shelter in a converted recreation center since Friday,
Angela Luster hitched a ride with the National Guard to check on her apartment. The Missouri National Guard was sent to the area after Thursday's snow and ice storm to make sure people were surviving without electric light and heat during the sharply cold weather.
Instead of a shelter, Anne Leners was able to share a friend's spacious house with a dozen other people.
After a run of temperatures in the teens, the St. Louis area got a break Monday afternoon with thermometers showing almost 40.
The St. Louis-based utility Ameren Corp. said it would be several more days before power is fully restored.
About 260,000 Ameren customers in Missouri and Illinois were still without electricity Monday.
Students dig in to real-life experience
》ACADEMICS
BY BEN SMITH
and Sherman counties.
A small crowd laughed as students shared pictures of themselves gooofing off and building make-shift docks, and of the shower facilities at archaeological dig sites in rural Kansas.
Shannon Ryan, Salina graduate student, introduced the final Archeological Exploration event of the fall semester with a few laughs before she and four other students from the department of anthropology presented their findings and conclusions from the summer excursion.
Five students from the department participated in the summer 2006 KU Archaeological Field School. The students spent most of June 2006 camping and digging at the Claussen and Kanorado sites in Bawauseen.
The students were responsible for discovering, marking, recovering and cataloging artifacts as well as conducting tours of the sites.
Scott Chaussee, Lawrence senior who was among the presents, said he thought his experiences during the summer were "fantastic."
"We learned a myriad of things," Chaussee said. "The whole point of field school is to indoctrinate us into how to run an archaeological site and gain experience."
The sites yielded hundreds of artifacts in the forms of animal bones and rock fragments, which helped the students determine the nature of the cultures who inhabited the area.
Chaussee said the Kanorado site, famed for the discovery of mammoth remains in the late 1970s, may be one of the oldest sites in Kansas, possibly dating back 1,200 to 1,300
years.
LR. Keller, Godfrey, III., sophomore, said although he attended the event as part of an extra credit assignment for his anthropology class, he found the information interesting.
"It was informative," Keller said. "I never really knew that there was that much evidence of life dating back over 9,000 years ago and that no matter how far apart the locations were at the sites, the artifacts were at the same depths in the soil."
Some of the research from the sites is still pending and at least seven more explorations are scheduled for the spring.
Kansan staff writer Ben Smith can be contacted at bsmith@kansan. com.
— Edited by Nicole Kelley
SCIENCE
NASA to create camp on moon
BY SETH BORENSTEIN ASSOCIATED PRESS
WASHINGTON — NASA may be going to the same old moon with a ship that looks a lot like a 1960s Apollo capsule, but the space agency said Monday that it's going to do something dramatically different this time: Stav there.
Unvelling the agency's bold plan for a return to the moon, NASA said it will establish an international base camp on one of the moon's poles, permanently staffing it by 2024, four years after astronauts land there.
The more likely of the two lunar destinations is the moon's south pole because it's sunlit
It represents a new phase of space exploration after space shuttles are retired in 2010.
for three-quarters of the time. That offers a better locale for solar power, plus the site has possible resources to mine nearby, said associate deputy administrator Doug Cooke.
To get to the moon, NASA will use two vehicles — the Orion exploration vehicle and an attached all-purpose lunar lander that could touch down anywhere and be the beginnings a
base camp, said exploration chief Scott Horowitz.
Two key themes, according to NASA, were to prepare for future exploration, with Mars the next stop, and expansion of human civilization. Both NASAs science and engineering communities agreed on a permanent outpost, an agreement rare for two conflicting sides, Horowitz said.
THIS WEEK ON CAMPUS
December 5,2006
funded by:
SENATE
PAID FOR BY KU
CCO
C. R.E.A.T.E.
Volunteer for C.R.E.A.T.E. Community Resources Engaging in the Arts Through Education!
Do art with kids!
Tuesdays, 10 - 11:30am
Wednesdays, 3:30 - 5:00pm
To volunteer and obtain location and project specifics, please email create@ku.edu or call the CCO . Office at 864-4073.
M. I.L.K.
Mentors in the Lives of Kids (MILK)
Children's Holiday PartyI
This Wednesday, 2-5pm
Kansas Union Ballroom, 5th floor
Come volunteer Wednesday night anytime from 12-7pm. We will need help with:
- Cookie decorating * Crafts * Movies
* Storytelling * Music * Games
Please email milk@ku.edu if you'd like to help!
Student Senate
Interested in the political process?
Make a difference today . . .
Apply for the Student Senate Elections Commission. Applications are available in the Student Senate office,
Room 410 (Kansas Union 4th floor).
Make a difference today . . .
Contact Andrew Payne at apayne@ku.edu if you have any questions.
The Center for Community Outreach Challenging. Educating. Empowering.
Students Tutoring for Literacy
Interested in tutoring kids and adults?
Volunteers are needed for Students Tutoring for Literacy Programs are available with groups or one-on-one throughout the Lawrence Community.
Students Tutoring for Literacy (STL) helps native and non-native English-speaking youth and adults obtain their GED, learn English as a second language, read their first book, or fill out a job application.