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It’s been said that all politics is local, but environmentalism works the same way: knowing that far-flung parts of the world face environmental problems is one thing, but seeing environmental problems in our own backyards makes us take things far more personally. It’s NIMBY in reverse.
In the U.S., every state in the Union — from California’s legal hassles with the feds over its greenhouse gas emissions standards to Georgia’s water struggles — faces its own unique [...]
By Max Lindberg •
December 20, 2007
It’s time to end Washington’s “We know what’s best for you” grip on this country. The latest incident is the Environmental Protection Agency’s denial of California’s bid for greenhouse gas limits on cars, trucks and SUV’s. The landmark regulations would have resulted in a 30 percent reduction in tailpipe greenhouse emissions in new cars and trucks by 2016, with cutbacks beginning in the 2009 model year. The EPA’s action was taken according to rules of the Clean Air Act, which says the state needed a federal waiver to implement the rules.
The EPA, in refusing the waiver, said the Bush administration was forging a national solution rather than accepting a patchwork of state regulations. At least 12 other states have adopted the California standards with four planning adoption. That, it appears, would qualify as a “patchwork” of standards.
But wait a minute. If the California standards were adopted, car makers could just go ahead and bring their product up to that level and sell the vehicles anywhere they wish. What’s the problem here? Everybody would win with less pollution and more fuel efficient cars and trucks nationwide. Sounds like some smoke and mirrors to me, and if they sell that kind of drivel to the public, we need a better system of education. But the feds are going to hold their ground, so I have a plan, and here’s the challenge.
The American Council for an Energy-Efficient Economy recently released an energy efficiency scorecard for the states. In it, the ACEEE considered state-level policies, programs, and technologies and ranked the 50 states and the District of Columbia in eight categories:
- Spending on Utility and Public Benefits Energy Efficiency Programs
- Energy Efficiency Resource Standards
- Combined Heat and Power
- Building Energy Codes
- Transportation Policies
- Appliance and Equipment Efficiency Standards
- Tax Incentives
- State Lead by Example and Research
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I cover the renewable energy beat here at Green Options, and I particularly enjoy writing about the states, communities, and businesses that are showing great leadership on advancing a clean, efficient, and innovative energy system for the 21st century. Although I agree that global warming and the related energy problems do require a federal goals, it is heartening to see citizens around the country taking action in spite of Washington.
This week brings a lot of
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Editor's note: This week, Ecotality's Steve Caratzas takes a look at one of the big problems with cleaning up emissions from school buses: missing federal money promised to states. This post was originally published on Monday, May 7.
Though lawmakers passed a measure in 2005 to replace diesel school bus engines nationwide, the results have been paltry. Thus school children nationwide are still traveling on antiquated buses that produce pollutants some believe to
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