Not to be outdone by Alberto Gonzales, Stephen Johnson appeared before the Senate yesterday and achieved new levels of obstinacy. The Senate Environment and Public Works Committee questioned Johnson, the administrator of EPA, about the Supreme Court's recent ruling affirming the agency can regulate carbon emissions under the Clean Air Act. The legislation instructs EPA to regulate harmful air pollutants. The hearing started as a back and forth about the speed with which EPA would pursue regulation. Democrats want swift action and urged Johnson not to wait for potential greenhouse gas legislation. Johnson refused to commit to a timetable preferring to move with the Bush administration's usual sloth. Things could have stymied there, but Johnson chose to antagonize the committee further by abandoning reasonable thought. Since the Clean Air Act only requires the regulation of emissions harmful to the public, EPA would not have to regulate if it determined carbon not to be harmful. But that would be a ludicrous notion, wouldn't it? The LA Times reports: As to whether the EPA will regulate carbon emissions nationwide, Johnson said the agency must first determine whether greenhouse gas emissions endanger public health or welfare. That remark drew criticism. "Surely, you acknowledge that global warming does endanger public health," Sen. Joe Lieberman (I-Conn.) said. Johnson refused to say whether he considered global warming the No. 1 environmental problem. That rankled Sen. Sheldon Whitehouse (D-R.I.). "You astonish me," Whitehouse said. Amen to that, Mr. Whitehouse. Democrats want swifter EPA action on emissions standards [LA Times]