A U.S. District Court Judge has ruled that the Bush Administration broke federal law when it failed to produce two required global warming reports on time.

The ruling was based on a 1990 law - the Research Plan and National Assessment required by the Global Change Research Act - directing the President to regularly issue two global warming plans: one that guides research and another explaining global warming’s possible impacts on the U.S.

The research plan was last issued in 2003, and is supposed to be updated every three years. The judge set a March 1 deadline for it. The report on global warming’s impacts is supposed to be issues every four years; the last one was updated by the Clinton Administration in 2000. A May 31 deadline has been set for the newest version, which will explain global warming’s projected impacts on the U.S. economy, public health, and the environment.

The Bush Administration tried to argue that it could decide for itself when and how the reports are released. They claimed they were already following the law by working on 21 different global warming reports, and were just starting to prepare a new research plan on the subject. But the judge wrote in the ruling: "The defendants are wrong. Congress has conferred no discretion upon the defendants as to when they will issue revised Research Plans and National Assessments."

The plaintiffs in the case were the Center for Biological Diversity, Greenpeace, and Friends of the Earth. The Bush Administration is reviewing the lawsuit and so far hasn’t commented on the ruling.

Center for Biological Diversity
International Herald Tribune
Wired Science

This week's guests coincide with Earth Day. Administrator of the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, Stephen L. Johnson, will host Ask the White House on Friday at 3p ET to discuss Earth Day, and Secretary of the Interior, Dirk Kempthorne will be available on Tuesday, April 24 for national park week.

Any one is invited to submit a question. I did. Even though it says he will discuss Earth Day, I thought I'd ask Johnson for a response to the Supreme Court decision earlier in the month. My question:

Will the EPA move forward with steps to regulate vehicle emissions given the recent Supreme Court decision that found the agency has authority under the Clean Air Act to do so?

In looking at some of the archived transcripts from previous Ask the White House Q&A sessions (topics with officials on Sudan and on Urban Development), there's nothing interactive about it. Although it is touted as 'live' it is definitely not a live chat (if you've ever been on IM with more than a few people you know it can get a little crazy). The format is straightforward Q&A with a few questions that have been hand picked by White House staffers and are more than likely answered ahead of time.

I'm guessing that they'll choose safe questions and respond accordingly with diplomatic answers, and they'll probably take the opportunity to address popular criticisms surrounding the EPA. I am curious to see what questions they field (and if they answer mine). I'll check in on Friday to see and give an update on Saturday.