Everyone on the planet now has a really good reason to celebrate.

On Monday, the U.S. Supreme Court came down with two rulings that will protect the environment.

The first ruling settled the Massachusetts v. EPA case by saying that the federal government, specifically the Environmental Protection Agency, has the authority to regulate the carbon dioxide and other greenhouse gases that are produced by cars and vehicles.

The EPA had tried to sidestep its authority, saying that there was no scientific basis for global warming. As a result of the ruling, the federal government should now begin to regulate car and tailpipe emissions, which account for about a quarter of the country's greenhouse gases.

The ruling paves the way for California and several other states who are already in the process of putting regulations into place. They can now proceed, because they'd needed the EPA's backing to move ahead.

The second ruling was to put air pollution controls on coal-fired power plants and factories. These factories, with smoke-stacks, will now have to make renovations to cut back on their pollution levels.

You'll find complete details about the Supreme Court rulings at the New York Times, NPR, and the Associated Press.

These rulings may not sit well with a handful of people -- automobile makers, factory owners, politicians who take a passive approach to climate change -- but the vast majority of us stand to benefit from their decisions.

Among other things, the EPA should now finally to do its job and start protecting the environment.