Climate Legislation With Teeth

A editoial form the Philidelphia Inquirer proposes a better, more effective climate change bill. Hilarity ensues.

As the mid-Atlantic region faces yet another massive blizzard, the problem of unregulated snow can no longer be ignored. It’s time for Congress to set limits on the crystalline mayhem descending through the atmosphere and disrupting the lives of hardworking Americans.

Certainly, snow-control legislation would require political will and bipartisan support. But if today’s policymakers don’t put an end to snowstorms, these boom-and-bust blizzards will continue to undermine our nation’s growth and prosperity.

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Because snow is a global phenomenon, banning it will require international cooperation. But the first step is regulating it in the United States. Worldwide initiatives invariably require U.S. leadership and support.

Even regulating domestic snowfall won’t be easy. There are several constitutional and practical challenges, but none of them is insurmountable.

The most obvious question is whether the federal government actually has the authority to ban snow. Die-hard federalists, who claim that virtually any Washington regulation intrudes on states’ rights, would no doubt challenge the ban, citing the 10th Amendment.

But a Supreme Court challenge predicated on states’ rights is unlikely to succeed for one obvious reason: Snow is not confined to individual states. The Constitution’s commerce clause empowers the federal government to regulate matters that extend – or, in this case, drift – across state lines.

Hat Tip to Orin Kerr at the Volokh Conspiracy.