03-16-2017, 07:07 PM
(This post was last modified: 03-16-2017, 07:08 PM by Eric the Green.)
Thank the Lord for Bob Ferguson! Blue states must RESIST Drump's roll back of fuel efficiency standards!
I say, the blue states must continue to enforce their own standards, regardless of what the Feds do.
West Coast governors gag at Trump relaxing fuel efficiency standards
BY JOEL CONNELLY, SEATTLEPI.COM Updated 2:42 pm, Thursday, March 16, 2017
http://www.seattlepi.com/local/politics/...007644.php
Govs. Jay Inslee of Washington, Kate Brown of Oregon, protest Trump administration decision to ease fuel efficiency standards for auto manufacturers. "This decision . . . makes America more dependent on oil while putting more lives at risk from pollution and shortchanging consumers at the pump." .
The governors of West Coast states, backed by mayors of major cities, are choking and wheezing at the Trump administration's decision to pull back on car and truck fuel efficiency standards negotiated under the Obama administration.
Fuel efficiency standards "have worked for years to lower consumers' fuel costs while making our air healthier to breathe," said a statement by the governors of Washington and Oregon, joined by mayors and representing a region of 50 million people with a combined GDP of $2.8 trillion.
Gov. Jerry Brown of California was more scathing in a letter to the new Environmental Protection Agency director (and climate-change denier) Scott Pruitt. "President Trump's decision today to weaken emission standards in cars is an unconscionable gift to polluters," wrote Brown. "Once again, you've put the interests of Big Oil ahead of clean air and politics ahead of science."
The fuel efficiency standards, agreed to by automakers, were a condition of the taxpayer bailout of Chrysler and General Motors. They set a timetable for cars and light trucks, so that by 2025, they would reach an average of about 54 miles per gallon. The current average is 36 MPG.
The rules applying cars through 2021 are already in place. A second phase, dictating standards through 2025, was put in place by the Environmental Protection Agency before Donald Trump took office. The industry responded, and Trump announced Wednesday he would reconsider the standards.
"Our job as governors and mayors is to boost our region's economic opportunities and make our cities and states cleaner and healthier for our citizens," said the statement, signed by Oregon Gov. Kate Brown and Washington Gov. Jay Inslee.
"This (Trump) decision does the exact opposite, making Americans more dependent on oil while putting more lives at risk from pollution and shortchanging consumers at the pump."
Critics say the Trump decision means more greenhouse gas emissions, and a scaled back effort against global warming, but also slows the unveiling of less polluting, more fuel efficient autos on America's highways.
"The U.S. is a technology superpower," added the statement. "Our strong vehicle fuel economy standards are a reflection of that and position the U.S. to remain competitive in the global push toward clean cars."
The mayors of Seattle, Portland, San Francisco and Oakland signed the statement.
The Alliance of Automobile Manufacturers has also brought a federal court challenge against the Obama administration rules.
The attorneys general of California and New York announced Thursday that they are joining the legal defense of the emissions standards.
Along with seven other state AGs, Washington's Attorney General Bob Ferguson signed a statement saying:
"We will vigorously oppose attempts by the Trump Administration to weaken our vehicle emission policies and put our health at risk, and we won't hesitate to stand up for the right of our states to adopt stricter pollution standards that provide critical protections to the health of our residents and our environmental resources."
I say, the blue states must continue to enforce their own standards, regardless of what the Feds do.
West Coast governors gag at Trump relaxing fuel efficiency standards
BY JOEL CONNELLY, SEATTLEPI.COM Updated 2:42 pm, Thursday, March 16, 2017
http://www.seattlepi.com/local/politics/...007644.php
Govs. Jay Inslee of Washington, Kate Brown of Oregon, protest Trump administration decision to ease fuel efficiency standards for auto manufacturers. "This decision . . . makes America more dependent on oil while putting more lives at risk from pollution and shortchanging consumers at the pump." .
The governors of West Coast states, backed by mayors of major cities, are choking and wheezing at the Trump administration's decision to pull back on car and truck fuel efficiency standards negotiated under the Obama administration.
Fuel efficiency standards "have worked for years to lower consumers' fuel costs while making our air healthier to breathe," said a statement by the governors of Washington and Oregon, joined by mayors and representing a region of 50 million people with a combined GDP of $2.8 trillion.
Gov. Jerry Brown of California was more scathing in a letter to the new Environmental Protection Agency director (and climate-change denier) Scott Pruitt. "President Trump's decision today to weaken emission standards in cars is an unconscionable gift to polluters," wrote Brown. "Once again, you've put the interests of Big Oil ahead of clean air and politics ahead of science."
The fuel efficiency standards, agreed to by automakers, were a condition of the taxpayer bailout of Chrysler and General Motors. They set a timetable for cars and light trucks, so that by 2025, they would reach an average of about 54 miles per gallon. The current average is 36 MPG.
The rules applying cars through 2021 are already in place. A second phase, dictating standards through 2025, was put in place by the Environmental Protection Agency before Donald Trump took office. The industry responded, and Trump announced Wednesday he would reconsider the standards.
"Our job as governors and mayors is to boost our region's economic opportunities and make our cities and states cleaner and healthier for our citizens," said the statement, signed by Oregon Gov. Kate Brown and Washington Gov. Jay Inslee.
"This (Trump) decision does the exact opposite, making Americans more dependent on oil while putting more lives at risk from pollution and shortchanging consumers at the pump."
Critics say the Trump decision means more greenhouse gas emissions, and a scaled back effort against global warming, but also slows the unveiling of less polluting, more fuel efficient autos on America's highways.
"The U.S. is a technology superpower," added the statement. "Our strong vehicle fuel economy standards are a reflection of that and position the U.S. to remain competitive in the global push toward clean cars."
The mayors of Seattle, Portland, San Francisco and Oakland signed the statement.
The Alliance of Automobile Manufacturers has also brought a federal court challenge against the Obama administration rules.
The attorneys general of California and New York announced Thursday that they are joining the legal defense of the emissions standards.
Along with seven other state AGs, Washington's Attorney General Bob Ferguson signed a statement saying:
"We will vigorously oppose attempts by the Trump Administration to weaken our vehicle emission policies and put our health at risk, and we won't hesitate to stand up for the right of our states to adopt stricter pollution standards that provide critical protections to the health of our residents and our environmental resources."