Today, more than a year after the Supreme Court directed the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) to decide whether global warming pollution is a threat to public health and welfare, the agency announced it will seek more public comment on the issue, essentially postponing any action until the next administration.

Below is a statement of Lexi Shultz, deputy director of Union of Concerned Scientists' Climate Program:

"In keeping with President Bush's flippant remark at the end of the G-8 summit—'Goodbye from the world's biggest polluter'—the EPA today refused to address global warming. By ignoring calls for action from scientists and the public at large, EPA Administrator Johnson is passing this monumental problem off to the next administration. Meanwhile, the world is waiting for the United States to take bold leadership. The science is clear, the legal authority is there, and the solutions are at hand. Sadly, the legacy of this White House is eight years of obstruction, denial, and delay."