Clean cars and muddled arguments
I was glad to see the SJ-R cover a couple of issues yesterday that I've written about before. One is about recommendations made by the Illinois Climate Change Advisory Group with a focus on the proposed standards for lowering pollution from cars.
A spokesman for the auto manufacturers is quoted making some of the same bogus claims they always make along with a disingenuous claim that they're pushing for better fuel economy standards at the federal level. The auto lobby has stopped better fuel economy standards from becoming law for years and if they support any improvement at all its a weak version to avoid the passage of something meaningful.
The auto industry tells the same horror stories about increased costs, lost jobs and their inability to create new technology every time a new regulation is proposed. And on the rare occasion that a new proposal does become law the car companies manage to comply without experiencing the predicted doomsday. It amazes me that so many lawmakers and journalists allow industry lobbyists to make the same discredited claims over and over without requiring them to provide any backing evidence.
The industry lobbyist also complained that building different versions of the same car for different states will cost them more money. I'm skeptical of their claims about the size of increased costs to consumers but the goal of environmental groups isn't to have manufactures making different versions of the same car.
If Illinois with its large car market were to join the 13 other states adopting the California Pavley emissions standards it would pressure car manufactures to make the less polluting cars in all states. It could in effect become the new national standard without action by the federal government.
As much as I appreciate that they covered the issue, its disappointing that most of the article was dominated by unsubstantiated claims by two industry lobbyists with no quotes from any environmental group. Was Illinois EPA Director Doug Scott supposed to represent the environmental viewpoint? I'm sure leaders of environmental groups currently suing the EPA will be amused to learn that Doug Scott is their new spokesperson.
The story focuses on car regulations but the advisory group made a series of recommendations, many of which received the support of industry and union leaders in the group. Their reports are worth checking out here.
Also worth reading is this editorial in the Salt Lake Tribune supporting the Republican Governor of Utah in his efforts to enact the same standards Illinois is considering.