Obama Begins Chipping Away at Bush Administration's Environmental Policies

by Damozel |  You can't say Obama has hit the ground running on redeeming his campaign promises. The New York Times reports:

President Obama directed federal regulators on Monday to move swiftly on an application by California and 13 other states to set strict limits on greenhouse gases from cars and trucks. (via Memeorandum)

According to the Reuters, this move could prompt "as many as 18 states to follow California's lead" in imposing tougher emissions standards." 

And he didn't stop there:

He also ordered the Transportation Department to begin drawing up rules...to implement a 2007 law requiring a 40 percent improvement in gas mileage for autos and light trucks by 2020. The Bush administration failed to write any regulations to enforce the new law. (NYT)

The federal government must work with, not against, states to reduce greenhouse gas emissions," Obama said at the White House, taking a stab at his predecessor's policies.(Reuters)  He also said that "his orders were intended “to ensure that the fuel-efficient cars of tomorrow are built right here in America.”" (NYT)

Not everyone thinks letting states adopt their own standards is a good idea.  According to The Politico, Senator Levin (D-MI), "a fierce defender of his state's auto industry," says it is not.

"[A] separate California standard will not only create the ‘confusing and patchwork set of standards’ that President Obama today implied he wanted to avoid, but also, as the California standard is currently drafted, it is discriminatory against U.S.-made vehicles of the same efficiency as the imports,” Levin said.  (Politico)

Notably, Obama "stopped short of flatly ordering the reversal of the Bush decision." (NYT)  Senator Levin said "he was assured in recent discussions with top Obama environment officials that the Environmental Protection Agency “does not begin with a foregone conclusion” that a waiver should be granted to the state so it can go beyond federal limits."  (Politico)

As the new Transportation Secretary remarked, the auto industry knew regulation was coming. (NYT)  And they've fought --- and are fighting --- it tooth and nail.  At Green, Inc., Micheline Maynard muses:

That prospect could not be worse for Detroit carmakers, which are struggling with sharply lower sales and a freeze on credit that forced two companies, General Motors and Chrysler, to seek billions of dollars in federal assistance....

Whether [Obama] wants the country to have one set of standards for 14 states, and another governing the other 36 states remains to be seen.

The New York Times discusses the ramifications of Obama's moves for auto makers:

Once the agencies act, automobile manufacturers will quickly have to retool to begin producing and selling cars and trucks that are cleaner and get better gas mileage on an accelerated schedule. The auto companies have lobbied hard against the regulations and have challenged them in court....

To avoid losing another year on emissions and fuel efficiency, Mr. Obama will order temporary regulations to be completed by March so that automakers will have enough time to retool for vehicles to be sold in 2011. Final standards for later years will be determined by a separate process that, under Mr. Obama’s order, must take into consideration legal, scientific and technological factors.  (NYT)

Nope. They ain't happy.  The Wonk Room reports:

The auto lobby continues to fight this long-needed change. In an interview with National Public Radio, Charles Territo of the Alliance of Automobile Manufacturers claimed the California standard would bring catastrophe:

At this difficult time, what we need is certainty and consistency, not confusion and chaos. And I think we’re all concerned that this would create chaos, not only for consumers, but also for dealers and for manufacturers.

Is there any merit in this plangent bleat?  California's attorney general Jerry Brown thinks not.

Brown...retorted...that Detroit’s problems have come in large part because of its failure to innovate:

The irony here is the auto companies want a bailout, in many ways because they weren’t building the kind of cars that were compatible with today’s energy market — and at the same time, they want to keep going with their lawsuits, which have already cost millions and millions of dollars.  (The Wonk Room)

Check out the list of lawsuits here. 

But, I hear you say, isn't paying all those lawyers sort of expensive, given that the auto industry has had to accept a great big chunk of taxpayer money just to keep going?

When asked by the Wonk Room how much his group is spending on these lawsuits, Territo said, “It’s not relevant how much money AAM has spent because there are so many other groups participating.”....

As Center for American Progress senior fellow Dan Weiss recommends, companies that receive bridge loans “should agree to cease challenges to the California program and new fuel economy standards.” In fact, all car companies should follow that advice — it’s a lot easier for companies to find solutions when they give the money to engineers instead of lobbyists, as incoming Energy Secretary Steven Chu has explained. 
(The Wonk Room)

Republicans and lawmakers such as Levin from auto industry states are not pleased.  Environmentalists, on the other hand, are.

[E]nvironmentalists say it takes a giant step toward curbing global warming since other states could impose stricter rules if the waiver is granted.

“It is so refreshing to see that the president understands that science must lead the way,” said Sen. Barbara Boxer (D-Calif.), chairwoman of the Environment and Public Works Committee. (Politico)

BooMan says:

With several strokes of Obama's executive pen, he did more this morning for environmental policy in a few minutes than Bush did in eight years...Detroit wants to stay stuck in the mud, but they're broke, asking for taxpayer money, and in no position to protest. This all appears to be part of our daily dose of change we can believe in. .

That wasn't Obama's only move on matters environmental.

He also ordered federal departments and agencies to find new ways to save energy and be more environmentally friendly. And he highlighted the elements in his $825 billion economic stimulus plan intended to create jobs around renewable energy.  (NYT)

Memeorandum has more.

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