Top 10 State and Local Environmental Solutions

1. Adopt the California car emissions standards. States can adopt the California emissions standards for new cars and trucks, standards that take more toxics out of the air than the looser federal guidelines, while leaving customers with a wide range of vehicle choices.

Why California cars are a federalism issue:
Significance:
According to the American Lung Association, more than half of the human-created air pollution in the country comes from cars, trucks, buses and other means of transportation. Car exhaust contains chemicals that cause cancer and aggravate asthma. While everyone suffers from breathing pollutants emitted by cars and trucks, children are particularly at risk because of their immature respiratory systems. Most of the pollution generated by cars and trucks stays in the area where it originates (unlike much power plant pollution, for example, which frequently blows across state lines), giving states a strong incentive to reduce emissions.

State role:
California was the first state in the nation to regulate tailpipe emissions from automobiles, cracking down on smog and cancer-causing hydrocarbons and poisonous carbon monoxide in 1966. When the federal government started regulating emissions soon after, it established a national emissions standard for every state but California. Because California regulated emissions first, and had a particularly severe air quality problem, the federal government let California continue its own regulatory system. Other states that have regions that cannot meet federal clean air standards can also adopt California's emissions standards.

The two standards for auto emissions strike a balance between the needs of the automobile industry, which could not accommodate fifty different state standards, and the needs of a particular state that was an early innovator in response to a pressing problem. That this balance can be struck shows the great benefits of the federal system. The fact that other states can adopt California's standards shows that states can learn from each other and then decide what particular mix of policies will best solve their air quality problems. Seven other states followed California's lead and adopted earlier versions of its more stringent emissions controls, and are likely to adopt the greenhouse gas emissions limits as well. New York, Rhode Island, and Vermont cars have already adopted the California greenhouse gas emissions standards. Maine and Massachusetts will probably do so soon.

Washington and Oregon adopted the California standards in 2005. "The entire West Coast will have the same heightened standards, and the pressure for the automobile industry to transition to cleaner cars--not just on the West Coast, but also nationally--will be inevitable," said Oregon Governor Ted Kulongoski.

At the end of 2004, California took another innovative step and passed regulations that limit the amount of carbon dioxide, the principal global warming gas, that comes out of vehicle tail pipes. If these regulations survive a court challenge from car manufacturers, then adopting the California car standards will mean both cleaner air in the short term, and a reduced threat of global warming in the future.

The rule has been challenged in US District Court by automakers, who say that essentially the only practical way to reduce carbon dioxide emissions is to raise cars' fuel efficiency. The federal government, they argue, has exclusive authority to set fuel efficiency standards for cars. They say that California's special status under the Clean Air Act does not extend this far. California's Attorney General Bill Lockyer will defend the state's rules.

Federal role:
The federal government also sets emissions standards, but these standards are less strict than the California rules. The Environmental Protection Agency has said that has no authority to regulate greenhouse gas emissions. A coalition of states has challenged that decision in court.

Critical Resources:

The emissions standards that are currently in place in California, and have been adopted by other states are known as the LEV II program (LEV stands for "low-emission vehicle.") This website, sponsored by the state of California, shows the wide range of cars available under the LEV II standards. More information about California's new global warming emissions rule is available here.

The Center for Policy Alternatives also has information and model legislation on clean cars programs. The National Conference of State Legislatures has an air quality legislation database, which includes clean car legislation introduced in states from the last two legislative sessions (and has information on a variety of other clean air initiatives).

Clean car advocates have unexpected allies in some conservative foreign policy experts. A coalition of these two groups have called for a reduction in America's dependence on foreign oil. The coalition's plan for energy security calls for more fuel efficient cars and alternative sources of automotive fuel.

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If you know of other state and local governments pursuing similar policies, or different policies to reach the same goal, please let us know by sending an email to redefiningfederalism@communityrights.org.

To read about how federalism concerns are playing out in the debate about policy responses to global warming, please visit our blog, www.warminglaw.com

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