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California Leads States In Suing the EPA For Attacking Vehicle Emissions Standards (theverge.com)
California, along with seventeen other states, announced a lawsuit against the Environmental Protection Agency today over its recent rollback of Obama-era vehicle emissions and fuel economy standards. The states argue that the EPA "acted arbitrarily and capriciously" in overturning the previous administration's decision. The Verge reports: The standards in question were drawn up in 2009 and adopted in 2012. They laid out a path for automakers to reduce overall greenhouse gas emissions by reaching an average fleet fuel economy of 54.5 miles per gallon by 2024. Since the program was charting a course that stretched out more than a decade into the future, it was written into the rules that the EPA would have to perform a "mid-term evaluation" before April 1st, 2018. This review would serve two purposes: assess whether automakers were on track, and then use that information to determine if the last section of the standards (which apply to model year 2022-2025 cars) were still feasible.
The EPA, under Barack Obama, kicked off this review process ahead of schedule in the summer of 2016 when it published an extensive 1,200-page technical assessment that analyzed whether the standards were working. In January 2017, the outgoing EPA wrapped this evaluation and determined that the bar was not set too high. In fact, it argued, automakers were overwhelmingly compliant. The Trump EPA's decision in April did not set new standards -- it simply argued that there were problems with the existing standards. In the meantime, the agency and the Department of Transportation are currently working together to craft and officially propose new standards. But the previous standards that the EPA said were inappropriate will technically remain in place until that happens.
The EPA, under Barack Obama, kicked off this review process ahead of schedule in the summer of 2016 when it published an extensive 1,200-page technical assessment that analyzed whether the standards were working. In January 2017, the outgoing EPA wrapped this evaluation and determined that the bar was not set too high. In fact, it argued, automakers were overwhelmingly compliant. The Trump EPA's decision in April did not set new standards -- it simply argued that there were problems with the existing standards. In the meantime, the agency and the Department of Transportation are currently working together to craft and officially propose new standards. But the previous standards that the EPA said were inappropriate will technically remain in place until that happens.
The last election's consequence is a return to normal policy with input from all stakeholders, including manufacturers. This is contrasted with policy dictated by zealots and academics with no skin in the game.
California politicians are responsible for turning a prosperous equitable place into the state with the nation's largest homeless rate, the nation's craiziest housing prices, and the nation's most insane building codes. Remember the good old-fashioned screw-in light bulb? They made them illegal, no matter what the technology of the bulb.
As for Tesla...it's easy to get 0 gallons per mile when you don't make any cars. They've been in business for the better part of a decade and they have made fewer cars total than Ford, GM, Toyota, or VW sell in one year. Actually strike that...fewer cars than the big boys sell one type of in a given year. Because it's fantasy, not technology. Take away the government subsidies for Richie Rich to buy them and they'll probably be down to zero in short order.
Tesla is getting Zero MPG.
The fact that you think zero MPG is better than 80 MPG tells me all I need to know about how seriously to take your opinion.