For Immediate Release:
May 26, 2009
Contact: David Willett, 202-675-6698
Sierra Club Applauds Sotomayor Nomination
Statement of Carl Pope, Sierra Club Executive Director
San Francisco, CA: "The Sierra Club today praised President Obama for the nomination of Judge Sonia Sotomayor to the Supreme Court. With a long record as a thoughtful, intelligent and fair-minded judge, we look forward to the confirmation process for Judge Sotomayor. Her life story and extensive legal experience make her an excellent nominee for the Court."
"Today's historic nomination reaffirms the importance of selecting nominees in all branches of government that reflect America's diversity. Our different backgrounds strengthen us in our efforts to protect the natural and human environment, and we fully expect decades of exemplary public service from Judge Sotomayor."
"As we learn more about her record, the Sierra Club is encouraged by Judge Sotomayor's opinion in Riverkeeper, Inc. vs. EPA in which she ruled in favor of environmental protection and against attempts by the government to ignore true environmental benefits when enforcing clean water laws."
"The Supreme Court plays an extremely vital role in directing the law surrounding issues like clean air, clean water, public lands and global warming. The decision two years ago in Massachusetts vs. EPA set the stage for the action finally being taken now by the Federal Government to begin curbing global warming pollution. In 2006, a sharply divided U.S. Supreme Court failed to uphold Clean Water Act protections that have been in place for the last 35 years (Rapanos v. United States and United States v. Carabell). This decision has left our clean water laws in turmoil."
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