2 January 2008TruthoutMargot Roosevelt
The state joins 15 others in a challenge to the EPA's position that a new federal energy bill trumps other action.California and 15 other states filed suit against the federal government today for denying them the right to restrict carbon dioxide emissions from cars and trucks, a major cause of global warming.
The lawsuit, filed in the 9th Circuit Court of Appeals, challenges the Environmental Protection Agency's Dec. 19 decision to deny California a waiver to pass its own tailpipe rules, which is permitted under the 1970 Clean Air Act. When it comes to air pollution, the act allows states to follow California rules or federal rules, so long as the federal government grants California a waiver.
In the last three decades, the federal government has approved about 50 waivers, but in this case, EPA administrator Stephen L. Johnson contended that energy legislation passed last month by Congress increases vehicle fuel efficiency so much as to render the waiver unnecessary.
In a statement today, California Atty. Gen. Jerry Brown, called Johnson's denial letter "shocking in its incoherence and utter failure to provide legal justification for the administrator's unprecedented action. The EPA has done nothing at the national level to curb greenhouse gases."
Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger called the EPA decision "unconscionable" in a statement today. "They are ignoring the will of millions of people who want their government to take action in the fight against global warming," he said.
New York Atty. Gen. Andrew Cuomo echoed Brown's sentiments, calling the EPA denial "shameful." Global warming, he said "will have devastating impacts on our environment, health and economy if it continues to go unchecked."
Nationwide, cars generate about 20% percent of carbon dioxide emissions, but in California, which has banned coal-fired power plants, the proportion is higher - about 30%.
The 15 states joining California in today's suit: Massachusetts, Arizona, Connecticut, Delaware, Illinois, Maine, Maryland, New Jersey, New Mexico, New York, Oregon, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, Vermont and Washington.
