The Atlantic's Marc Ambinder is reporting that Barack Obama may use a Supreme Court ruling to enact a plan to cap the emissions of carbon dioxide — a cap and trade plan. As we reported in the October issue of Building Operating Management, the court's 2007 ruling in Massachusetts v. EPA declares that greenhouse gases emitted from cars are a pollutant that should be regulated under the Clean Air Act. This ruling is a giant hammer that will eventually force action, regardless of Congress.Some background to newbies: Under a cap and trade plan, an emissions budget is set for whatever source is being regulated. A common example is a power plant. The cap is typically based on a source’s past emissions and is lowered over time. This matters to facility managers because it will cause energy prices to creep up — making energy efficiency projects even more important.Enacting a cap and trade plan under the Clean Air Act would be far more complex — and disruptive — than if a carbon dioxide was regulated by Congress under a bill such as the Boxer-Lieberman-Warner Act. The stakeholders know this — even those who oppose a cap and trade plan. So chalk this one up to posturing. I'd say the Obama team is sending a message: We can do it with you, or we can do it to you.