Environment-1 / Auto Industry-0

The auto industry suffered a critical blow today when U.S. District Court Judge Anthony Ishii ruled that California can regulate greenhouse gas emissions from vehicles. This ruling eliminates one of the blockades to California creating a healthier environment by tightening regulations on tailpipe emissions from cars, trucks, and SUVs.

Automakers sued the state over the tailpipe standards it passed in 2004, requiring them to create cars and light trucks that produce about 30% fewer greenhouse gases by 2016. In the lawsuit, the automakers argued that it was the federal government's responsibility to institute a uniform fuel economy standard, referencing an energy law passed in 1975 giving the U.S. Department of Transportation sole jurisdiction over fuel economy.

This major battle may have been one, but the war isn't over ... yet. In California's crusade for cleaner air another obstacle still remains--a waiver from the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) to begin implementing the program. California and 14 other states sued the EPA in November, seeking to get the agency to expedite its decision-making process in this matter.

The auto industry definitely makes a good case with its argument for a federally mandated emissions policy, but it should be one like California's that supports emission reductions and a healthier environment for us all.

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