EPA Pushed To Enforce Car Emissions Ruling

Supreme Court Says Auto Exhaust Is Air Pollution, State Officials Say EPA Needs To Act On It

(AP)  Officials of 18 states, including Washington and Oregon, are taking the EPA back to court to try to force it to comply with a Supreme Court ruling that rebuked the Bush administration for inaction on global warming.

In a petition prepared for filing Wednesday, the plaintiffs said last April's 5-4 ruling required the Environmental Protection Agency to decide whether to regulate greenhouse gas emissions, including carbon dioxide, from motor vehicles.

The EPA has instead done nothing, they said.

"The EPA's failure to act in the face of these incontestable dangers is a shameful dereliction of duty," Massachusetts Attorney General Martha Coakley said.

The petition asks the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit to require the EPA to act within 60 days.

In last year's decision, the Supreme Court ruled the EPA has the authority to regulate emissions from new cars and trucks under the Clean Air Act, and said the reasons the EPA gave for declining to do so were insufficient.

EPA spokesman Jonathan Shradar said the Supreme Court required the agency to evaluate how it would regulate greenhouse gas emissions from cars and other vehicles but set no deadline.

The EPA plans to include the evaluation in a broader look at how to best regulate all greenhouse gas emissions, not just those from vehicles, he said. Otherwise, a mash of laws and regulations could emerge rather than the "holistic" approach the administration favors.

"We want to set a good foundation to build a strong climate policy of potential regulation and laws we can work toward and actually see some success," Shradar said.

The plaintiffs in the latest court action include Coakley and attorneys general from Arizona, California, Connecticut, Delaware, Illinois, Iowa, Maine, Maryland, Minnesota, New Jersey, New Mexico, New York, Oregon, Rhode Island, Vermont, Washington and the District of Columbia, plus representatives of the Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection and the cities of New York and Baltimore, and several environmental organizations.

[rf35]

"They doesn''t?" Boy, I sound like a redneck. I hope New Mexico isn''t affecting my brain!

[rf35]

"The one that particularly bothers me, is water vapor which is responsible for more than 99% of all greenhouse warming, and which we will be inundated with, if this hydrogen car silliness ever gets off the ground."
Posted by Seafang

I looked it up a few months ago. Internal combustion engines produce more water vapor than hydrogen fuel cell engines. Plus, you aren''t getting all the other pollutants you mentioned OR CO2. So the HFC is the best option, from what I''ve seen. They doesn''t take any corn, either. The cars are here (Honda & BMW). Now we just need the hydrogen filling station infrastructure. Our government should be working on this instead of wasting time with a p*ssing contest between the Executive and Judicial branches.

[andor3]

the EPA is like a 5 year old...

they tell the states that only the feds can regulate emissions, then decide they do not want to...

so the supreme court tells them they have to do it, and they say "yeah but they did not say WHEN we have to..."

this is pure neocon: make the government look as bad as you can and make people forget who the governement is supposed to work for. like one of those tricky plots where the hero kills his lover because he does not recognize her...

[seafang]

Well I hope that the Supremes stick to their guns and make sure that the EPA regulates ALL greenhouse gas emissions from automobiles etc; not just blame it all on CO2.

The one that particularly bothers me, is water vapor which is responsible for more than 99% of all greenhouse warming, and which we will be inundated with, if this hydrogen car silliness ever gets off the ground.

But no need to wait for that, our present obsolete gasoline SUVs are putting out both CO2 and H2O, as well as ethane, methane etc etc etc. So ban them all and get them out of our environment before we all die from the pollution.
And if we all go back to riding bicycles where are we going to get all the extra food energy we need to power those bikes, since most of our food resources will be busy growing ethanol.

[skyk-2009]

It is such a shame that WE the PEOPLE must file such suits against our OWN Government. We sure stepped in it with Bush that is for sure!

[Syndicate]

I hope they don''t start trying to regulate the emissions from animals and people.