EPA Invites Comment, Delays Regulation
Wards reports that the EPA has announced it will delay drawing up regulations for vehicular greenhouse gas emissions for nearly a year while it seeks public comment. With states like California threatening to create a state-by-state patchwork of emissions standards which would wreak havoc on the auto industry, you'd think the EPA would want to develop a national standard for emissions sooner rather than later. Indeed, the EPA is fighting California's efforts in court, arguing that it alone has the right to regulate emissions. So why doesn't it just regulate already? Democrats claim that it is delaying any regulation until after George W Bush leaves office. Isn't the point of being a lame duck President that you can push through the tough decisions without fear of political backlash? In this case, the big "L" word (legacy) is still very much up in the air, and emission regulations aren't standard fare for a Republican president's victory laps. Meanwhile, the environmentally oversensitive wonder: if we delay regulation by a year, will it already be too late for the planet?
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x2 on what Drew said. Not only are there only two possible standards for states to follow, but a number of states--at least 11, maybe as many as 13, I'm not exactly sure at this moment--have already indicated their intention to implement California's version of the GHG rules if/when they become law. Thus, we're not even just talking about California vs. everybody else, where special cars would have to be manufactured just for the Golden State; California will have plenty of company.
You have to understand, regulating vehicle emissions is a life or death issue that must be dealt with at the absolute most politically adventageous moment.
Ok guys, the turn of phrase is a little misleading (although technically you only need two colors for a patchwork). My main point was that if the EPA is so concerned about letting California create its own standards, why the hell aren't they trying to set a uniform, 50-state standard ASAP? I'll be honest, I'm not overly familiar with the jurisprudence surrounding this issue. I was under the impression that this is an issue of federalism, and that the USFG can't block states from setting their own standards. Only California is actually setting standards (which others are adopting), but I doubt that the courts will rule that only California has the right to set these standards. Obviously I have more reading to do.
I thought that the point of the EPA getting up Callie's nose about their CO2 regs was that they were saying that because the two are so intertwined, it's just a roundabout way of a state legislating fuel economy, which the EPA does have rules for.