At least for now, the greenhouse gas policies of President Obama will remain in place, despite some opposition in the Congress. The Senate last week, rejected a controversial new bill, which would deny the EPA the right to regulate carbon emissions from major industrial polluters and power plants across the nation. Coming at a time when the President’s climate change bill remains stalled in the Senate, the vote is a positive, if lone, sign, reaffirming the commitment of most Senators to combat global warming. “If ever there was a vote to find out whose side you are on, this is it,” said Sen. Barbara Boxer, D-Calif., chairman of the Environment and Public Works Committee. The President also took note, telling supporters that the vote was “yet another reminder” of the pro-climate atmosphere in the Congress and the need for a comprehensive climate bill.

After a bitter debate on the floor, stemming from discussion about the stalled climate bill, the measure was rejected with a vote of 53-47. If adopted, the measure would have barred the EPA from regulating and placing restrictions on carbon emissions on vehicles as well as industrial activity, rights that the EPA was entitled to under the Clean Air Act. The Republicans and 6 Democrats who supported the bill claimed that the EPA had no right to regulate climate emissions, and that this right was reserved to Congress alone. On the other side of the aisle, the White House and Senate Democrats, referring frequently to the oil spill in the Gulf, argued that it made no sense to undermine efforts to curtail emission reduction efforts which would lower the nation’s dependence on foreign oil.

However, not all green groups were thrilled with the rejection of the bill; the environmental group Greenpeace reacted with alarm to the vote, citing the 6 Democrats who voted in favor of the bill, as well as the very close margin as causes for concern and alarm, warning that “was nowhere near a blowout in our favor.” Despite this, most environmental advocates in the White House agree that the strength of the Democratic bloc in Congress should not be underestimated and that the action may give new hope to the ill-fated climate change bill.