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 Editorials | Environmental | August 2005 
States to the Rescue
 NYTimes
| | Emissions from a power plant surround the U.S. Capitol in Washington, D.C. (Photo: Tim Sloan) |
It's been obvious for some time that state governments are taking the problems of global warming and oil dependency much more seriously than the Bush administration is, and have been far more creative in devising solutions. Hardly a month goes by without another example of the gap between palpable alarm at the state level and Washington's stubborn passivity. This week provided two more.
Exhibit A was the disclosure in The Times that New York and eight other Northeastern states have reached a tentative agreement on a regional plan to reduce power plant emissions of carbon dioxide, the main global-warming gas. The plan would establish a cap on these emissions as well as a market-based system for trading pollution permits. That system would be aimed at helping utilities meet mandatory targets as cheaply and efficiently as possible.
The plan is the first of its kind in the nation dealing with greenhouse gas emissions, though a similar approach has already been successfully applied to acid rain pollution. The plan is based on a regulatory regime that has explicitly been rejected by the Bush administration in favor of a softer voluntary approach, which has yielded little progress so far. The architects of the new plan, including Gov. George Pataki of New York, hope that it will encourage other states to follow suit, and, ideally, persuade a hitherto reluctant Congress to adopt the kind of unified national strategy embraced in Europe but not here.
Exhibit B was the administration's long-awaited proposal for overhauling fuel economy standards for vehicles like SUV's, minivans and pickups, which are classified as "light trucks." These vehicles account for half of all new automotive purchases, much of the country's increasing demand for imported oil and a significant percentage of its greenhouse gas emissions. The proposal was a major (though not unexpected) disappointment, calling for only a modest increase in fuel efficiency and, by the administration's own testimony, a tiny reduction in oil use - about 10 billion gallons of gasoline over nearly two decades, or less than one month's current consumption.
Assuming that the automobile makers do not find new ways to "game" the rules, they would increase the average mileage of light trucks to about 24 miles per gallon in 2011 models, from the 21.2 miles per gallon for today's models. That is less than what the National Academy of Sciences says is achievable with existing technology. It is also far less than the efficiencies that will be required by a new California law aimed at a 30 percent reduction in greenhouse gas emissions by cars.
Several other states, including New York, have said they will adopt California's rules. The automobile companies have challenged the rules in court, advancing the argument that they constitute a backdoor, illegal usurpation of federal authority to set mileage standards. The Bush administration made much the same point in announcing its new rules on Monday. That raises a question: What are states to do when the federal government does so little? |
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