The Bush Administration gave a nice fat victory to automakers today in California. The state is mired in air pollution problems across the state, from Fresno to the L.A. basin and neighboring Riverside County. I remember growing up there and the air in New York City is fresh and clean compared to L.A. The smog hanging over the valleys was so disgusting....well, enough about childhood memories. California wanted to do something about the problem, but Bush's EPA denied their waiver to the new Federal laws.
From The New York Times:
Had the E.P.A. agreed to the waiver, California and other states would have enacted rules requiring the auto companies to achieve a 30 percent reduction of emissions by cars, trucks and sport utility vehicles by 2016. The rules were set to begin taking effect with 2009 model year vehicles, some of which go on sale as soon as next month.
Twelve states — Connecticut, Maine, Maryland, Massachusetts, New Jersey, New Mexico, New York, Oregon, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, Vermont and Washington — have adopted the California emissions standards, and the governors of Arizona, Colorado, Florida and Utah have said they planned to do so.
The primary way for emissions to be reduced in automobiles is by improving fuel economy. Automakers must now achieve 27.5 m.p.g. for cars, and 22.2 m.p.g. for light trucks, including S.U.V.s and pickups.
Bush's plan mandates a 35mpg standard by 2020, but California and the other states following their lead wanted to step it up a few notches. Car makers complained about having to improve fuel economy, so the E.P.A. dragged their feet at first, but finally made this terrible decision after being ordered to by the courts.
Needless to say, environmental groups are not too pleased:
"This decision is like pulling over the fire trucks on their way to the blaze," said Fred Krupp, president of Environmental Defense, which supported the waiver. "For 40 years, E.P.A. administrators have recognized the important role that California plays in innovating new standards to fight pollution."[...]
"By blocking the California standards, the administration has stuck a thumb in the eye of 18 governors from both red and blue states who have led the way on global warming by adopting these landmark rules," said David Doniger, climate center policy director for the National Resources Defense Council.
How anyone besides the automakers could be happy about this seems impossible. Well, perhaps the freaks inside the White House as well.
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