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U.S. PIRG Consumer Blog
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May 23, 2007
States want to lead way on global warming
Yesterday, the U.S. EPA held the first of two public hearings on whether to give states the green light to reduce global warming pollution from cars and SUVs by adopting California standards that are stricter than federal law and, according to the states and numerous court decisions, allowable under federal law. (Washington Post). Eleven states and California are planning to implement rules based on California's 2004 global warming statute. According to a new U.S. PIRG report The Clean Cars Program: How States are Driving Cuts in Global Warming Pollution: Tailpipe standards already in place in 12 states would reduce global warming emissions by nearly 400 million metric tons by 2020 -- a reduction equivalent to taking 74 million of today's cars off the road for an entire year. The fight over the pending EPA decision is the latest battle in the war over the rights of states to protect consumers and the environment when the federal government falls down on the job. Industry lobbyists are scurrying around Washington whining about the expense of "patchwork quilts" of differing state laws-- in this case the twelve states, plus six more that are in the process of emulating them -- would all have identical laws. That quilt has one color-- green.
Posted by Ed Mierzwinski at May 23, 2007 06:25 AM
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