Steve Quayle News Alerts

July 22, 2002

California is driving down a historic and controversial path of requiring new cars to sharply reduce emissions of gases thought by many scientists to be warming the Earth.

When California Gov. Gray Davis signs a car emissions bill into law on Monday, he’ll be taking on not just the U.S. automotive industry but also President Bush. The law will require sharp cuts in emissions of carbon dioxide, a gas many scientists fear is warming the Earth. The industry and the president oppose mandatory cuts, but several other states — New York among them — could follow California’s path.

THE MEASURE will make California the first state to regulate vehicle emissions of so-called greenhouse gases.

Specifically, it orders the state’s Air Resources Board to adopt regulations that would achieve “the maximum feasible reduction” in greenhouse gas emissions from cars and light-duty trucks, the category that includes SUVs. The most direct route to cutting emissions is to make vehicles get more miles to the gallon. Higher mileage means fewer gases emitted per mile driven.

The regulations, which are to be completed by 2005, would not take effect until Jan. 1, 2006. The amended version of the bill also gives automakers until 2009 to come up with technological changes or modifications to comply with the new standards.

Davis, a Democrat, announced Friday that he would sign the bill. “It is urgent that we act,” Davis said in a conference call with reporters, noting that many scientists “believe that global warming is no longer a theory, it is a reality.”

Below’s a look at both sides of the issue, the politics behind it, as well as how California’s action could be used by other states to circumvent federal regulations.

THOSE IN FAVOR

Democrats across the country have attacked the Bush administration for failing to establish mandatory action to combat global warming, and environmental groups reacted with dismay when the federal government in April rejected a proposed 50 percent boost in fuel efficiency for gas-guzzling cars and SUVs.

In California — a Democratic stronghold with a strong record of environmental regulation — politicians moved to take the matter into their own hands, passing the new emissions bill by a narrow 41 to 30 vote in the state assembly this month.

“This bill represents another example of California showing leadership,” said Winston Hickox, head of the state’s Environmental Protection Agency. He also took a jab at the president, saying he felt “that Washington’s dropped the ball in cleaning up carbon pollution gasses that trap and change our climate.”

California officials say the bill is not excessive and is simply designed to nudge the automobile industry, in particular towards more hybrid gas-electric cars that can double mileage.

“Many of these technologies would work whether its on a European mini car or its on the largest SUV here,” said Tom Cackette, the Air Resources Board’s chief deputy executive officer.

Environmentalists have the same view, and say industry opposition is typical. “Carmakers have protested every health and safety rule ever written, everything from seat belts to smog controls,” David Hawkins, climate director at the Natural Resources Defense Council, said in a statement.

What Drives Climate Change?

Solar input
A third of the sun's energy is reflected back into space after hitting Earth's upper atmosphere, but two thirds warms the planet and drives its weather engine.

The atmosphere
A delicate balance of gases gives Earth its livable temperature. Known as "greenhouse" gases because they trap heat inside the atmosphere, they send a portion of that heat back to Earth's surface. The gases include water vapor, carbon dioxide, methane and nitrous oxide.

The oceans
Covering two thirds of Earth, oceans are the key source of moisture in the air and they store heat efficiently, transporting it thousands of miles. The oceans and marine life also consume huge amounts of carbon dioxide.

The water cycle
Higher air temperatures can increase water evaporation and melting of ice. And while water vapor is the most potent greenhouse gas, clouds also affect evaporation, creating a cooling effect.

Clouds
They both cool Earth by reflecting solar energy and warm Earth by trapping heat being radiated up from the surface.

Ice and snow
The whiteness of ice and snow reflects heat out, cooling the planet. When ice melts into the sea, that drives heat from the ocean.

Land surface
Mountain ranges can block clouds, creating ‘dry’ shadows downwind. Sloping land allows more water runoff, leaving the land and air drier. A tropical forest will soak up carbon dioxide, but once cleared for cattle ranching, the same land becomes a source of methane, a greenhouse gas.

Human influences
Humans might be magnifying warming by adding to the greenhouse gases naturally present in the atmosphere. Fuel use is the chief cause of rising carbon dioxide levels. On the other hand, humans create temporary, localized cooling effects through the use of aerosols, such as smoke and sulfates from industry, which reflect sunlight away from Earth.
Source: National Geographic; MSNBC

THOSE AGAINST
The auto industry has criticized the bill as a “driving tax” designed to put a wedge between Californians and their beloved SUVs and pickup trucks — which now account for some 47 percent of passenger vehicles sold in the state, a percentage that has tripled over the last 30 years.

“The danger is that Californians may lose the choice to buy the vehicles they need for their families and work while Arizonans and Nevadans and Oregonians will still have that choice,” said Eron Shosteck, a spokesman for the Alliance of Automobile Manufacturers. “This gives unelected bureaucrats a blank check to design the cars that Californians will drive.”

Shosteck said the industry is mulling its options, including an effort to put a referendum on the bill on the November state ballot and a possible legal challenge to California’s right to override federal fuel efficiency standards.

“This bill is all pocketbook pain and no environmental gain,” Shosteck said. “The Air Resources Board wants everyone driving around in golf carts.”

STATE’S INFLUENCE
California officials concede that even if the state is successful in legislating a cut in greenhouse gas emissions, that alone will do little to stop the overall rise in world temperatures. While the United States contributes roughly 25 percent of the global greenhouse gasses, California — long a national leader in tough air pollution regulations — is not among the top emitters.

But those officials argue that the state’s action will set an example for other states and even nations to follow.

That’s because California, alone among U.S. states, has the ability to impose its own air quality standards because its Air Resources Board was established before the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency was formed under the Clean Air Act of 1970.

The act also allows other states to follow California’s standards rather than the federal ones.

In New York, a state legislator has suggested introducing a bill similar to California’s, while officials in other states are believed to be studying their alternatives.

“We have reasons to believe that some of the northeastern states are looking very closely at what’s going on here,” said Jim Boyd, a member of the California Energy Commission.

Environmentalists agree. The bill, the Natural Resources Defense Council stated, “is the first of its kind anywhere in world, and marks a dramatic change in the national global warming debate.”

MSNBC.com’s Miguel Llanos as well as Reuters contributed to this report.

http://www.msnbc.com/news/783573.asp