EPA Prepares To Roll Back Rules Requiring Cars To Be Cleaner and More Efficient (nytimes.com)

Coral Davenport and Hiroko Tabuchi, reporting for The New York Times: The Trump administration is expected to launch an effort in coming days to weaken greenhouse gas emissions and fuel economy standards for automobiles, handing a victory to car manufacturers and giving them ammunition to potentially roll back industry standards worldwide. The move -- which undercuts one of President Barack Obama's signature efforts to fight climate change -- would also propel the Trump administration toward a courtroom clash with California, which has vowed to stick with the stricter rules even if Washington rolls back federal standards. That fight could end up creating one set of rules for cars sold in California and the 12 states that follow its lead, and weaker rules for the rest of the states, in effect splitting the nation into two markets.

Scott Pruitt, the head of the Environmental Protection Agency, is expected to frame the initiative as eliminating a regulatory burden on automakers that will result in more affordable trucks, vans and sport utility vehicles for buyers, according to people familiar with the plan. An E.P.A. spokeswoman confirmed that Mr. Pruitt had sent a draft of the 16-page plan to the White House for approval. Further reading: EPA to its employees: Ignore science when talking about climate change (ArsTechnica)

Comments

Re:Two Words

[Jahoda]

...b...b...b..ut you guys keep telling us about states' rights and limited government interference! Surely you aren't just a sour-grapes hypocrite more concerned with "sticking it" to whatever you imagine liberalism and by extension California to be?

LOL, anyway, I'm sure _this_ will be the time that the courts side with the Trump administration, over the last 50 years of California's regulation of emissions produced by vehicles in their state.

Re:Disadvantage US manufacturers?

[Anonymous Coward]

> Why would anyone want the Americans to win? They are the world's leading warmonger nation. Anything that makes them weaker improves the world.

I have my doubts about that. Until now, it seems Russia dances very well with them...

> Because you're stuck breathing the same air as us.

You cannot make them wiser; if they were wiser they would be wiser by themselves...

I already boycott American car companies, but not other business areas. I shall reconsider and probably exclude other industry sectors. This is hard because not all industries are oblivious to the current world climate state.

And those who deny the human role in climate change will be boycotted without further consideration.

Also, I'd like to know whether there's a list by some independent NGO of business which:

a) strongly contribute for climate worsening or
b) promote FUD about climate change.

TIA.

Re:Disadvantage US manufacturers?

[Anonymous Coward]

I first drove a car with start/stop in it in Germany over 10 years ago. It worked great. There's no reason for it to be a detriment to driving. Fast forward 10 years, my current car, a 2014 Lincoln MKZ Hybrid has start/stop flawlessly integrated and not even noticeable. No jarring or jerkiness.

I get 37 mpg combined mileage (based on 4 years of real world driving) and because of the electric assist I get instant torque whenever I want to pass grandma on the freeway. The hybrid drivetrain is a clean a win win, not a desperate measure, and it's what I as a consumer now expect as the minimum technical solution for future vehicles. I'll never go back to pure IC engine--it'd be like going back to flip phone from an iphone.

Re:Disingenuous and Sensationalist

[dgatwood]

What is changing is that the highly unrealistic target of 50 mpg for fleet average requirements in 2025 are going to be scaled down to something that is actually achievable.

Unrealistic? Really? The Prius does better than that right now. And AFAIK, all EVs do *much* better than that in terms of miles per gallon-equivalent-amount-of-power. All it takes to hit that target is to produce more electric vehicles, more hybrids, and fewer gas hogs. It literally requires nothing more than changing the number of vehicles in each category that you build, while working to push down the price of electric vehicles to be more affordable. How is that unrealistic? Beyond, I mean, the possibly unrealistic goal of getting automakers to stop dragging their heels and whining and screaming like petulant children....