It is not surprising that automakers have sued to negate Maine's new
rules for automobile emissions since they've pursued litigation against
other states that have adopted similar standards. Because federal
regulators have also weighed in against state rules, it is likely the
emissions standards will be tied up in court and regulatory limbo for a
long time. In the meantime, economics and public attitudes are likely
to do more to move drivers into less polluting vehicles than rules and
lawsuits.
Last
month, the Board of Environmental Protection adopted California's auto
emissions standards for vehicles sold beginning in 2009. The new rules
require a 30 percent reduction by 2016 in emissions of greenhouse
gases, such as carbon dioxide, that are linked to global warming.
Automakers
have challenged the rules in court arguing that their arguments weren't
given enough weight by the BEP and that the rule change required
legislative review. The Legislature last year passed a bill that gave
the BEP authority to develop vehicle emissions standards to comply with
federal clear air requirements. The automakers testified before and
submitted documents to the BEP, as did many other groups.
A
bigger threat than their lawsuit is the U.S. Environmental Protection
Agency's recent statement that it prefers methods other than regulating
tailpipe emissions to reduce carbon dioxide pollution. The agency must
approve California's program before its standards can take effect there
and in the 10 other states, including Maine, that have adopted them.
Because the best way to lower emissions is to increase fuel economy,
the agency parrots the industry claim that this will force people into
smaller, unsafe cars.
A
study published last week in the journal Pediatrics pokes a large hole
in the logic that smaller cars are less safe than larger vehicles. The
study found that because they are more than twice as likely to roll
over in a crash, sport utility vehicles are not safer for children than
smaller vehicles. Children in rollovers were three times more likely to
be seriously injured than those in non-rollover accidents, according to
the study, funded in part by the world's largest insurer, State Farm
Insurance.
Congress
last year approved legislation requiring the National Highway Traffic
Safety Administration to develop standards for automakers to address
SUV rollovers, a process that will take years.
Economics
may also trump the automakers' legal arguments. Last week, Bloomberg, a
financial news service, predicted 2006 might be "the year of the
compact car in North America." Because of record gasoline prices, Asian
carmakers are counting on American buyers turning to smaller
fuel-efficient cars and away from gas-guzzling trucks and sport utility
vehicles, according to the news service. As a result of the high
prices, cars gained market share against trucks and SUVs for the first
time in 25 years.
If
the trend holds, foot-dragging federal regulators will be overtaken by
consumer demand for smaller, more fuel-efficient, less-polluting cars.
