California & Illinois sue EPA over car standards
I didn't get the chance to write about this story when it broke but I wanted to make sure people are aware of Illinois' involvement. From the Environmental News Service:
California Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger and Attorney General Edmund G. Brown Jr. today sued the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency to force the agency to take action on California's request to limit greenhouse gas emissions from motor vehicles.Filed today in Washington, the precedent setting lawsuit charges the federal agency with an unreasonable delay in reaching a decision on a California law known as the Pavley bill, which mandates a 30 percent reduction in motor vehicle emissions by 2016, starting with model year 2009.
"California has a long and proud history of leadership in reducing pollution and fighting for clean air for our residents. And we are upholding that tradition today by filing a lawsuit against the federal government that takes a big step forward in the battle against global warming," Governor Schwarzenegger told a news conference at the state capitol.
Other states are allowed to adopt the California standards, once they're approved, and that's what the Illinois Clean Car Bill sponsored by Rep. Karen May would do. Although Illinois has yet to join the other states which have voted to adopt the California Pavley standards, Illinois is among the 14 states joining California's lawsuit against the EPA.
The Wall Street Journal covers an interesting aspect of this story in an article about the electric industry supporting the proposed auto emissions standards. Its an indication that the electric industry knows they're fighting a losing battle against laws to curb global warming and are trying to divert the brunt of those laws to auto-makers.