New pro-environment US supreme court judge

Obama nominated Sonia Sotomayor to be a new Supreme Court justice late last month, and her confirmation hearing will likely be in July or August. If confirmed, Sotomayor would join one of the nine justices that make up the United States' highest and most powerful court. A specific 2007 ruling by Sotomayor in a case between the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and environmentalist groups is being interpreted by many as a sign that Sotomayor may be more of a friend of the environment than big business. The case was over the EPA's willingness to permit cost-benefit analysis for decisions power plants make when upgrading technology aimed at protecting the environment, and Sotomayor sided with the environmental groups, saying technology, not cost, should be the biggest concern. The ruling was met with strong dissatisfaction from big businesses, who would have been required to spend more on environmental technologies. Sotomayor's ruling, however, was later overturned by the Supreme Court, a sign that Sotomayor could perhaps be adding a new voice on environmental issues to the United States' highest court.