The Supreme Court has ruled 6-3 to uphold one of the major pillars of Obamacare. This is a good thing for the environment. Here are five reasons.

  1. Any time the court affirms the power of government to improve citizens’ lives it is a good thing for the environment. The government is going to have to do an awful lot if we’re ever going to get a handle on the climate problem.
  2. Obamacare includes measures promoting environmental health and environmental justice, and could make it easier to track environmental health issues.
  3. The Affordable Care Act has significantly improved access to birth control. Empowering women to take control of when they have babies is a precondition to population leveling off.
  4. This decision was a victory for the poor and a triumph against inequality. Poverty and inequality are the biggest threats to life on Earth and a future that doesn’t suck.
  5. Yes, the Supreme Court upheld a major pillar of Obamacare, but above all it upheld common sense. Could we hope against hope? Could common sense actually become … the national standard?