We have our own nation here in Kalifornia.

[Brucelee]

Perhaps Arnie will petition to join the UN? :D


Associated Press
December 17, 2007 12:29 p.m.

SACRAMENTO, Calif. -- Handing a major defeat to the auto industry, a federal judge ruled Wednesday that California can regulate greenhouse gas emissions from vehicles.

The ruling by U.S. District Court Judge Anthony Ishii in Fresno clears one of the hurdles in California's effort to regulate tailpipe emissions from cars, trucks and sports utility vehicles.

Automakers sued the state over the tailpipe standards it approved in 2004, which would force automakers to build cars and light trucks that produce about 30% fewer greenhouse gases by 2016. However, the state still needs a waiver from the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency to begin implementing the program. The EPA has not yet issued a decision, leading California and 14 other states to sue the agency in November seeking quicker action.

"It's a major victory and a giant step forward for California," California Attorney General Jerry Brown said of Wednesday's ruling. "I hope this will get the attention of President Bush and have him support significant caps on greenhouse gas emissions."

In its lawsuit against the state, the Association of International Automobile Manufacturers argued that it was the federal government's responsibility to establish one uniform fuel economy standard. Without one, manufacturers would be forced to produce vehicles using too many different efficiency standards, raising the cost of cars and eliminating some model choices.

They argued that a federal energy law passed in 1975 gives the U.S. Department of Transportation sole jurisdiction over fuel economy.

But Mr. Ishii rejected that claim, saying Congress gave California and the EPA the authority to regulate vehicle emissions, even if those rules are more strict than those imposed by the federal government. "It would be the very definition of folly," to prevent environmental agencies from regulating greenhouse gas emissions, Mr. Ishii wrote in his 57-page opinion.

The automobile manufacturers association said it would consult with its 14 member companies, including automakers such as Toyota Motor Corp. and Honda Motor Co. about whether to appeal.

"While we have not yet had an opportunity to analyze the California federal court's decision, we are obviously very disappointed by this result," said Michael Stanton, the association's chief executive.

Under the Clean Air Act, California is the only state that can set its own vehicle pollution standards, because it started regulating air pollution before the U.S. EPA was created. Other states are free to choose either the California rules or the federal government's.

The state's tailpipe emissions are key to California's goal of lowering greenhouse gas emissions to 1990 levels by 2020. About a third of the state's emissions come from cars, pickups and sport utility vehicles, a figure that will only grow if they are not regulated in the nation's most populous state.

The California ruling is another victory for states seeking to regulate greenhouse gases from cars. In September, a federal judge in Vermont also rejected similar claims by the Alliance of Automobile Manufacturers.

[Brucelee]

EPA Denies California Bid for Tighter Greenhouse Gas Controls
Wednesday, December 19, 2007

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WASHINGTON — The Environmental Protection Agency on Wednesday slapped down California's bid for first-in-the-nation greenhouse gas limits on cars, trucks and SUVs, refusing the state a waiver that would have allowed those restrictions to take effect.

"The Bush administration is moving forward with a clear national solution — not a confusing patchwork of state rules," EPA Administrator Stephen L. Johnson told reporters on a conference call. "I believe this is a better approach than if individual states were to act alone."

The long-awaited decision amounted to a serious setback for California and at least 16 other states seeking the new car regulations to achieve their anti-global warming goals. It was a victory for automakers, who contended they would have been forced to reduce their selection of vehicles in the states that adopted California's standards.

The tailpipe standards California adopted in 2004 would have forced automakers to cut greenhouse gas emissions by 30 percent in new cars and light trucks by 2016, with the cutbacks beginning in the 2009 model year.

Under the Clean Air Act, the state needed a federal waiver to implement the rules.

"It is disappointing that the federal government is standing in our way and ignoring the will of tens of millions of people across the nation," said Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger. "California sued to compel the agency to act on our waiver, and now we will sue to overturn today's decision and allow Californians to protect our environment."

Twelve other 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 also plan to adopt them. The rules were also under consideration in Iowa.

With Wednesday's denial, those other states are also prevented from moving forward.

In explaining his decision, Johnson cited energy legislation approved by Congress and signed into law Wednesday by President Bush. The law requires automakers to achieve an industrywide average fuel efficiency for cars, SUVs and small trucks of 35 miles per gallon by 2020.

Johnson said Congress' approach would be better than a "partial state-by-state approach." He said California's law would have yielded a 33.8 mpg standard, but California Air Resources Board chair Mary Nichols said Johnson's math was "just wrong."

She said the California regulations would have resulted in a 36.8 miles per gallon average and would have taken effect sooner than the federal standards.

"EPA is now trying to hide behind the passage of (fuel economy) legislation," Nichols said. "This is really unconscionable."

Environmentalists and Democratic lawmakers also denounced the decision. Sen. Barbara Boxer, D-Calif., who chairs the Senate's environment committee, said she'd question Johnson at a hearing. Rep. Henry Waxman, D-Calif., chairman of the government oversight and reform committee in the House, vowed to investigate, alleging the decision was dictated by politics — something Johnson denied.

"This federal agency blunder is bad policy and worse law," Connecticut Attorney General Richard Blumenthal said. "We will take the EPA to court if necessary and once again demonstrate that no one is above the law. If the EPA won't obey the law or take the lead, at least it should get out of the way so states can protect our environment."

Automakers applauded the outcome.

General Motors Corp. said in a statement that "by removing the disproportionate burden of complying with a patchwork of state-specific regulations that would divert our resources, automakers can concentrate on developing and implementing the advanced technologies in ways that will meet America's driving needs."

Wednesday's decision was further confirmation of the Bush administration's adamant opposition to mandatory limits on greenhouse gas emissions, even after a string of court decisions affirming the right of states and the federal government to regulate carbon dioxide and other greenhouse gases.

It was the first time the EPA had fully denied California a Clean Air Act waiver since Congress gave California the right to obtain such waivers in 1967.

The auto regulations were to have been a major part of California's first-in-the-nation global warming law which aims to reduce greenhouse gases economy-wide by 25 percent — to 1990 levels — by 2020. The auto emission reductions would have accounted for about 17 percent of the state's proposed reductions.

Nichols said California expects to win on appeal and does not plan to shift its strategy to meeting greenhouse gas reduction goals.

Despite the Bush administration's opposition to mandatory greenhouse gas limits, some congressional Democrats hope to craft a federal law. Earlier this month Boxer's committee passed a bill with mandatory caps on greenhouse gases although approval by the full Senate next year is far from certain and there are no immediate plans for the House to act.

California had been waiting for Wednesday's decision for two years. EPA put it off while a Supreme Court case was pending on whether the agency could regulate greenhouse gases. In April, the Supreme Court said it could.

In the wake of that ruling, President Bush directed federal agencies to craft regulations to cut greenhouse gas emissions from motor vehicles. Johnson said Wednesday he would review the newly signed energy bill to see what additional steps might need to be taken.