California still wants EPA waiver to set emissions standards until 2012
Even though Obama's new national CAFE standards will lean on the stricter California standards for support and there was broad agreement that a national standard of this type is the right way to move forward, the devilish details could still cause a disagreement or two. Problem One is that the new CAFE rules don't start affecting new cars until the 2012 model year. Problem Two is that the whole EPA waiver thing has not yet been decided. While California will back down once the 2012 models are here, that state has announced that it still wants to be able to regulate tailpipe greenhouse gas emissions between now and then. The New York Times' Jim Motavalli explains that California doesn't see its rules for the next few years being all that tough for automakers to comply with using existing technology and, in any case, the real prize is that big CAFE standard and dovetailing California's leadership in the fight with the new reality. The battlelines are still drawn, but they're getting a bit scuffed up.
[Source: NY Times]
Photo by Mel. B. Licensed under Creative Commons license 2.0.
Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)
John 1:23PM (5/29/2009)
There is nothing you can do to satisfy those people. They are totally unreasonable.
I'm certainly no Obama fan but he was able to get NHTSA, the EPA, and industry together and get a realistic new standard and CARB just continues to act like they are "holier than thou" and continue their mission to regulate cars out of existence.
The world will be a better place when California finally falls off into the ocean.
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polo 11:29PM (5/29/2009)
Shut up. Millions of people should die because you don't a state's right to protect its population and quality of life? They simply don't want automakers to switch to less efficient cars before the 2012 deadline, how exactly is that "regulating cars out of existence"? Other countries (like most of Europe) have significantly stronger regulations than the US and last I checked they still drive cars.
Snoopy 2:45AM (6/01/2009)
*insert stereotypical hippie voice here*
Woah dudes! You've got to, like, totally bring it down man. There's no need for the hate-fest.
*end stereotypical hippie voice here*
Seriously though, this makes sense logistically. They're just covering their butts in case of a hard fall. If things don't quite work out, they've got their own standards to fall back on. If things do work out, it just means that they were covered in case of some issue coming up.
Also, as far as the "regulate cars out of existence" bit, that's an extremely simplistic and foolish way to look at the situation, and you know it. If anything, it's a pretty decent way of giving the startup "green" car companies the chance to complete their buildup in the transition period to the new standards. A lot of them are based in California. Think about it. It's good business, literally and environmentally.
Spec 3:31PM (5/29/2009)
That picture might be a bit misleading . . . that is fog NOT smog.
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