* Utah and eight other states sided with the Bush administration in arguing that the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency should not be forced to regulate carbon dioxide and other greenhouse gases from vehicles. Utah's reason for opposing federal regulation: Local government would be hard-pressed to devise countermeasures for vehicles to cut the pollution behind climate change. The U.S. Supreme Court's 5-4 ruling on Monday is a defeat for the administration and Utah's position.

* Salt Lake City Mayor Rocky Anderson, known worldwide for his political and practical efforts to tackle climate change, said he was thrilled about the ruling, though disappointed that Utah Attorney General Mark Shurtleff opposed EPA's authority to impose greenhouse gas curbs under the Clean Air Act. "Predictably, the Supreme Court ruled against his position. Predictably, the Bush administration took the wrong position. It has taken the U.S. Supreme Court to order the EPA to affirmatively act to protect against carbon pollution."

* Laura Nelson, Gov. Jon Huntsman Jr.'s energy policy adviser and chairwoman of the governor's advisory panel on climate change, said Utah's executive branch has focused on looking for proactive strategies to manage greenhouse-gas emissions. "We have expected there would be some type of federal regulation," she said, "and that [ruling] increases the likelihood there will be federal regulation."

* James Holtkamp, a Salt Lake City lawyer with the law firm Holland & Hart's global climate change practice and a law professor at the University of Utah, agreed the ruling will mean increased pressure on the federal government to enact a national mandatory program. He noted: "The Clean Air Act is a clumsy vehicle to regulate greenhouse gases, so at some point Congress will have to figure out what program will work the best."

Judy Fahys