White House Proposal Rolls Back Fuel Economy Standards, No Exception For California (npr.org)

The Trump administration has proposed a rollback of Obama-era fuel efficiency and emissions standards, while simultaneously taking aim at California's unique ability to set more stringent rules. From a report: Under the Obama administration, the Environmental Protection Agency called for the fuel economy standards for new vehicles to ratchet up over time. The increasingly strict standards were designed to combat climate change by reducing greenhouse gas emissions. On Thursday, the EPA and the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration released a new proposed rule that would instead freeze the standards at their 2020 levels for six years. "Cars and trucks are just part of the basic fiber of the American economy and the American experience, so we take what we're doing very, very seriously," Bill Wehrum, EPA assistant administrator, told reporters on Thursday. The agencies say that increasing fuel efficiency requirements contributes to an increase in the cost of new cars and trucks, which may discourage consumers from buying new vehicles. Because newer vehicles have advanced safety features, the administration argues, increasing fuel economy requirements therefore harms highway safety, as well as having economic effects.

Comments

"I have friends who own coal mines..."

[Zontar The Mindless]

"...and oil wells."

Re:"I have friends who own coal mines..."

[Joce640k]

I was going to mod this "insightful" but it hardly qualifies.

It should be obvious to anybody with two braincells to rub together.

All those oil billionaires who financed Trump's campaign are getting their payback.

Re:"I have friends who own coal mines..."

[Rob Y.]

Funny how concepts like States' Rights lose their importance when you don't like what the States are doing - but are a useful cover when you want to, say, destroy unions - or pander to racist voters.

Re: "I have friends who own coal mines..."

[Anonymous Coward]

but because they hate the utter hypocrisy, corruption, and inefficiency of the standard political class.

So they voted for the hypocrisy, corruption, and inefficiency of Trump?

Remember his capacity for anything but rational arguments. He can't even admit when he makes things up from whole cloth.

Maybe you would do better to consider how other people see your behavior when you embrace and apologize for Trump.

Hypocrites

[CohibaVancouver]

while simultaneously taking aim at California's unique ability to set more stringent rules

Trump, his Republican cronies, and their voters, are such a collection of hypocrites.

For decades, all Republicans do is bleat "STATES' RIGHTS!" - But when those states actually exercise those rights (emissions / drug policy / guns) the Republicans do everything in their power to stomp all over them.

Hello Malaise Era, we meet again...

[GameboyRMH]

Soon the US could be building gas guzzlers nobody outside the US wants to buy...and then when gas prices go back up, nobody inside the US will want to buy them either...remember how awesome it was last time that happened around the OPEC oil crisis? #MAGA!

Re:Fuel economy doesn't equal less emissions

[bill_mcgonigle]

spew out a lot more pollutants per minute than the hugest SUV or pickup truck.

Don't forget that the big transition from cars to SUV's was a direct response to fuel economy standard increases, because they effectively banned family station wagons but "light trucks" were in a different class, so people who needed station wagons now needed SUV's, which got worse mileage.