RWB____s

check out this bad news.

WASHINGTON - Twenty-one senators called on the Environmental Protection Agency on Friday to let California implement stricter restrictions on vehicle emissions, which other states could then enact.

The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration said this week that new gas mileage rules would pre-empt state emissions standards, leading to fears that EPA would refuse to give California the waiver it wants to restrict greenhouse gas emissions from vehicles.

Because California began regulating pollution before the federal government did, it has special authority under the Clean Air Act to set its own vehicle pollution standards if it gets a waiver from EPA. Other states can adopt either the federal standards or California’s rules.



California air regulators approved rules in 2004 to cut exhaust from cars and light trucks by 25 percent and from larger trucks and sport utility vehicles by 18 percent starting in 2009. Ten other states have also adopted those standards, which are opposed by automakers, but the rules can’t be implemented until California gets a waiver. EPA has yet to grant one.

“In the face of federal inaction on global warming, California, Maine and the other states have stepped forward to begin reducing the pollution that causes global warming. We are concerned that you may be preparing to argue that the states lack authority to do so,” said a letter to EPA Administrator Stephen Johnson signed by Sens. Dianne Feinstein, D-Calif., Olympia Snowe, R-Maine, and others.

Snowe was among five Republicans who signed the letter, as did independent Sen. James Jeffords of Vermont and 15 Democrats.

“Rather than attempting to thwart such state efforts, the federal government should encourage states to develop innovative solutions to serious public health and environmental problems,” the letter said.

EPA spokesman John Millett said he had no immediate comment, noting that the agency still was reviewing the waiver request.

The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration on Wednesday rolled out tighter gas mileage rules for pickups and sport utility vehicles. The agency argued in its rule that Congress has “expressly pre-empted” states from issuing their own rules on mileage standards, and that any state law limiting carbon dioxide emissions would qualify as such because it would have the direct effect of regulating fuel consumption.

The 10 states that have adopted California’s vehicle emissions rule are Maine, Connecticut, Massachusetts, New Jersey, New York, Oregon, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, Vermont and Washington.

Red Devil

How is that different than any other year? MA has been doing it, or rather trying to do it, for years now. They just can't get their equipment to work properly.

If anything write your reps and tell them you don't agree with CA getting a waiver anymore as the Fed has gotten up to speed with regard to emissions.

Supervisor42

Remember when this was about pollution?
Now C02 is a pollutant.
NOBODY EXHALE!!!! You will be guilty of spewing toxic gas into the environment
Yet another reason that they put California so damn far away from us sensible people.
They really think to make anything magically come true, all they have to do is pass another law.
Now if they wanted to work on something that is going to be a crisis in 10 years instead of 500 years, check out the forcasts of water availability verses population in CA. Now that IS a problem.
They are actually going to need global warming to jar loose icebergs or they are going to run out of water.
Back on topic: Alabama finally passed a law recently making it a crime to drive an uninsured vehicle. That means it was legal to drive without insurance until 4 years ago. At that rate of progress we aren't worried about "Californication" of the regulations any time soon.
I think I'll go start my TA and breathe the aroma of half burned 93 octane from a 108' LSA cam...
while I still can.

Vader

One common school of though dictates that this continent is split into parts - California on the west, "The East" on the east, and the United States in between. Californica has been ignoring numerous federal laws for years, and now they want to SET it? O.K. Thanks to the Founding Fathers for having the wisdom and forsight to create the Senate, wherein Californica politicians get no more voice than West Virginia or Wyoming.

Just PRAY for that earthquake...

Politics aside, this can only confuse things for everyone else. There are (were) already two levels of vehicle emission requirements, mandating two control systems. I can only imagine a "California model", "Massachusetts model", "Colorado model", "Alabama model", "Virginia model", etcetera of the new Malibu. It won't be long and no one will be able to purchase a new vehicle in California, and it will become more and more like Cuba every year, where they still drive 1958 Chebbies because it's all they have since the embargo.

If California were truly serious about emissions, they'd do something about diesels, significant mass transit, and vehicles traversing the international border. Until then, it's all liberal lip service. Come to think of it, isn't that what got the last administration in trouble? It is evident that no one wants to take on the real problems, since it doesn't create any political capital. Population concentration is a far bigger problem, and likely the root of their perceived air quaility issues. If they actually believe that global warming is caused by "greenhouse gasses" - A point of contention among even the most educated scientists - they would attack the largest sources of these gasses. In case you haven't done your homework, that #1 source is NOT motor vehicles. They're just easiest to pick on, so they get all the attention.

As it applies to us, it certainly can't make anything any easier, since some of these self-appointed "experts" are talking about retroactive restrictions. For now, ThirdGens are safe. Illinois is at least a little more sensible, and is repealing emission tests for pre-OBD II vehicle next year, based on the fact that under 30% of vehicles tested last year were older than 1996 models. That state can still meet U.S. EPA requirements for the percentage of vehicles tested by testing only the later models, and in doing so can eliminate about 90% of the treadmill (I/M240 tests) necessary. This speeds the process, eliminates specialized equipment, and is much safer for those performing the tests and the vehicle being tested.

If others were only paying attention, life could be so much easier. I guess they're too busy fighting over illegal immigration and the other federal laws they've been ignoring for the last 20+ years.

[/RANT}

WckdDudeMan

Stop it at the source, require NON WORK vehicles currently in production to be created with higher restrictions(better mileage). That takes care of the OH SO SMALL problem of one person driving a tank that gets 5 mpg takes up the entire road and is never used for what it was meant for(Hummer, original Wranglers[and *******], Broncos and Blazers should have been the only SUVs ever in production IMO) the whole mother that stays at home and never does anything that requires the use of a fricken Expedition or H2 driving it all around town and trying to runover my little sunbird really pisses me off.
In response to the whole half burned gas thing, actually half burned gas is better, take a look at the carbon concentrations right now. Carbon that remains in hydrocarbon chains is seen as fine, its not effecting the environment in anyway(not mentioning exxon valdez or anything like that). CO2 or CO on the other hand disperse into the atmosphere, well thats fine except for the wonderfully harmful gas that is CO gets up there and starts stealing O- atoms from the ozone(O2) layer. Now we get a problem, well, time to mention greenhouse gasses(CO2) this isnt really harmful other than the fact that CO2 traps uv light causing increasing temprature, not the big problem in my opinion except that even if we stopped producing it now and stopped global warming the ocean is still warming up from the past 10 years and well see another 5* or so increase in average tempratures. This brings me to my last point, the atmosphere isnt holding all the carbon, wheres it going you may ask? Well as far as marine science researchers can tell the oceans are acting as a giant sponge to help soften the impact, the problem is we dont know how much longer it can do this for and how much damage its caused already. Once it does hit that critical point its likely something will occur(who knows we may see the events of day after tomorrow spread across a decade sometime in the next 100 years, or the ocean environment may become so damaged that phytoplankton is no longer growing and then well see a much higher increase in CO2 until we eventually suffocate from our own exhaust[if you know anything about death from asphyxiation in this way you know its REALLY unpleasant]).

Oh yea and as an aside ill be the first to move up and condense with you midwest people time to move into the colorado area since if this does keep going most of fl will be underwater(20 sealevel rise which is the current estimate will cover all but some small parts of central fl and the panhandle.
I agree with the above poster however that this is not the main problem overall. If you take a look down to the third world countries(the place that takes care of ridding our atmosphere of most of these unpleasant gasses) theyre removing their forestation, usually by burning which just inflames it all. If the amazon rainforest and other large ecosystems were still in there full incarnation I guaruntee we wouldnt see half of the BS about limiting this and that as we are right now cause the problem probably wouldnt be occuring.

Back to my opinions on this model I believe they need to put stricter regulations on new cars being produced, increase the tax on those cars that are bought running gasoline at low mpg(diesel trucks are excluded due to the fact that theyre one of the most reliable vehicles and get great mileage for being what they are). Also in the way of anything thats driven on the road(any registered car) input environmental fees that increase with the lower MPG it gets(take that h2 bitches), definetly be a fork in people who dont use those obnoxious things for what they were meant for.

Guest

Good point on breathing above.

Emissions laws have become more and more strict on numerous things, even in other countries besides ours. They say the 'problem' is worsening. Maybe that should be their first clue. Their second clue should be to look at the population figures alone and nothing else. Exhaling CO2 and burning 1000's of calories a day (expended as heat) isnt insignificant when you multiply it by the billions. Not to mention things like methane emissions, solid waste, and other things I wont go into...

On a thirdgen related note, why didnt GM do us a favor and make some diesel thirdgens? They still arent testing those or even thinking about it.