WASHINGTON, DC, February 6, 2009 (ENS) – In accordance with President Barack Obama’s order in January, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency will reconsider its decision denying California permission to set standards controlling greenhouse gases from motor vehicles.

The waiver request was made by California on December 21, 2005, to allow the state the right to control greenhouse gas emissions from motor vehicles. The request was denied by then-EPA Administrator Stephen Johnson on March 6, 2008.

On January 26, less than a week after taking office, President Obama requested that EPA revisit the matter of the denial.

“EPA has now set in motion an impartial review of the California waiver decision,” said EPA Administrator Lisa Jackson. “It is imperative that we get this decision right, and base it on the best available science and a thorough understanding of the law.”

The Clean Air Act gives EPA the authority to allow California to adopt its own emission standards for motor vehicles due to the seriousness of the state’s air pollution challenges.

Tailpipe emissions contain the greenhouse gas carbon dioxide. (Photo by Daniel Olinick)

The EPA must approve a waiver, however, before California’s rules may go into effect. There is a long-standing history of EPA granting waivers to the state of California.

EPA believes that there are significant issues regarding the agency’s denial of the waiver. Jackson said, “The denial was a substantial departure from EPA’s longstanding interpretation of the Clean Air Act’s waiver provisions.”

EPA received on January 21, 2009, a letter from California outlining several issues for Administrator Jackson to review and reconsider about the previous denial of the waiver.

Should the EPA grant the waiver, California, and 13 other states will begin a program to reduce the greenhouse gas emissions from passenger vehicles 30 percent by 2016.

EPA will take public comment concerning the reconsideration of the waiver for a period of 60 days after publication in the Federal Register. There will also be a public hearing to be held in March in Washington, DC.

“Today’s decision is a return to sanity by an agency whose fairness and balance had been sabotaged by the partisan extremism of the Bush Administration,” said California Attorney General Edmund G. Brown Jr.

“This is but a first step, but it signals that this EPA has a renewed commitment to sound science and to rule of law,” he said.

The regulations in question were developed under California’s 2002 vehicle greenhouse gas emissions reduction law AB 1493 authored by then-Assemblymember Fran Pavley, the first global warming law in the nation.

The California Air Resources Board adopted the Pavley regulations in 2005.

Pavley, a Democrat, was elected to the California State Senate in November 2008, where she now chairs the Natural Resources and Water Committee.

The reductions achieved by the Pavley regulations constitute an important element of the California’s plan to reduce greenhouse gas emissions 30 percent by 2020 enacted into law in 2006.

The Air Resources Board approved the Scoping Plan for this effort in December. It is the nation’s first comprehensive approach to address climate change that draws upon every sector of a state’s economy.

“California has led the way on global warming,” said Attorney General Brown, “and the state should be allowed to continue in its leadership role in reducing automobile emissions and addressing global warming.”

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SAN FRANCISCO, California, February 11, 2008 (ENS) – The fight over fuel economy and vehicle tailpipe emissions is just beginning and America’s franchised new car and truck dealers are at the center of it, the head of the National Automobile Dealers Association said today.

“This is no time for us to relax,” said incoming NADA Chairman Annette Sykora at the association’s convention and exposition in San Francisco.

She said the association supports the “aggressive but responsible” increase in the Corporate Average Fuel Economy, CAFE, standard passed by Congress in December that requires vehicles to achieve 35 miles per gallon by 2020 – a 40 percent increase in fuel economy over today’s standards.

Annette Sykora chairs the National
Automobile Dealers Association.
(Photo courtesy NADA)

“In fact, it is because dealers were actively engaged in the CAFE debate that the industry can live to fight another day,” Sykora said.

The current CAFE standard for cars, set in 1984, requires manufacturers to achieve an average of 27.5 miles per gallon, while a second CAFE standard requires an average of 22.2 miles per gallon for light trucks such as minivans, sport utility vehicles, and pickups.

Sykora said the automobile dealers oppose any effort to overturn the December 2007 decision by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency to deny California’s request for a waiver of weaker federal standards for emissions from vehicle tailpipes in favor of a tougher state law.

California has introduced a plan to reduce tailpipe emissions and regulate greenhouse gases from cars and light trucks 30 percent by 2016, starting with the 2009 model year. It is the first waiver request concerning greenhouse gases.

At least 18 other states have passed laws following the California Clean Car program, but according to the Clean Air Act, the EPA must grant California’s waiver request before any other state can implement its tailpipe emissions program.

“We support a national approach to fuel economy, not a confusing and costly state-by-state patchwork of regulations that could threaten vehicle availability, affordability, safety, and the ability of dealers to engage in interstate vehicle sales and trades,” Sykora said.

California Congressman Henry Waxman, who chairs the House Committee on Oversight and Government Reform issued a subpoena to compel the EPA to provide unredacted copies of five documents, including a key presentation EPA staff made to Administrator Stephen Johnson in October 2007 about California’s regulations to reduce greenhouse gas emissions from automobiles.

The subpoena follows several requests for these documents that Waxman made starting December 20, 2007.

U.S. Senator Barbara Boxer, a California Democrat who chairs the Senate Committee on Environment and Public Works, wrote Friday to the Government Accountability Office, the investigative branch of Congress, requesting an investigation of the EPA’s decision to deny California’s request for a waiver that would enable them to reduce global warming emissions from vehicles.

“It is unconscionable for the Bush administration to stand in the way and keep California and the other states from stepping up to the challenge of global warming,” Boxer wrote. “This unprecedented denial must be reversed, and it is critically important to shine a spotlight on how this Administration made this outrageous decision.”

Seven other senators joined in the request for an investigation, all Democrats or Independents.

One senator who signed the letter is presidential hopeful Senator Hillary Clinton of New York, who said, “The Bush administration’s decision to flatly deny the request of states to reduce pollution under the Clean Air Act was unprecedented, and the American people deserve answers about how this decision was made. The Bush administration may believe they’re not accountable for their actions, but we’re going to pursue this issue until the facts are brought to light.”

Evening rush hour on the Golden Gate Bridge, San Francisco (Photo by Sonja Boeckmann)

Sykora says that whatever the government finally does, the “consumer will ultimately decide if a federal fuel-economy standard is successful, because you can’t wave a government wand and make consumers buy a particular type of vehicle.”

Sykora pointed out that Ford’s F-150 pickup has been the No. 1 selling vehicle in the United States for the past 31 years.

“We have a vast country with vastly different transportation needs,” Sykora said. “We don’t want policies that stifle consumer demand. We want to accelerate it.”

Additionally, Sykora warned against the “jalopy effect,” when car owners keep their older, less fuel-efficient vehicles longer. Unless public policy encourages turnover of the existing fleet, the goals of saving energy and cutting tailpipe emissions will not be achieved, she said.

Sykora, president of Smith Ford Mercury in Slaton, Texas, and Smith South Plains Ford, Lincoln-Mercury, Dodge, Chrysler and Jeep in Levelland, Texas, is the first woman chairman of the National Automobile Dealers Association.

The National Automobile Dealers Association, founded in 1917 and based in McLean, Virginia, represents about 20,000 new car and truck dealers, with nearly 43,000 separate franchises.

More than 25,000 attendees – auto dealers, automakers and exhibitors – are attending the auto dealers’ 91st annual event. The four-day conference and expo runs through Tuesday.

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WASHINGTON, DC, January 24, 2008 (ENS) – U.S. Senator Barbara Boxer, a California Democrat who chairs the Senate Committee on Environment and Public Works, introduced legislation today that would direct the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency to grant California a waiver under the Clean Air Act to cut global warming pollution from motor vehicles.

A host of other Democratic senators stepped up to co-sponsor the measure, including presidential hopefuls Hillary Clinton of New York and Barack Obama of Illinois.

The basis for Administrator Stephen Johnson’s December 19, 2007 decision to deny California a waiver of less stringent federal standards announced in a hastily convened 6:30 pm press conference is now the focus of growing scrutiny.

Senator Boxer said, “Administrator [Stephen] Johnson’s decision to deny the waiver was not supported by the facts, by the law, by the science, or by precedent. I will use every available tool to ensure that California and the nation are able to reduce the pollution that causes global warming. One of those tools is legislation that essentially overturns Mr. Johnson’s actions.”

Senator Diane Feinstein of California said, “It’s become clear that Administrator Johnson’s denial of California’s waiver was based on politics, not science. Even the EPA’s own experts have said that there was a compelling need for action. So, today, Senator Boxer and I have introduced legislation to take this decision out of the hands of the EPA – and allow California to move ahead with curbing tailpipe emissions.”

Senator Lieberman said, “The vision and leadership of California, Connecticut, and the other states that have moved to curb global warming pollution from cars should be rewarded by the grant of authority to implement the states’ programs. In the wake of the Bush administration’s failure to follow federal law and deliver the needed authority, we in Congress must step in with legislation that gives the states the go-ahead to fight climate change.”

Senator Clinton said, “It is outrageous that the Bush Administration chose to block the efforts of New York, California and many other states that want to reduce greenhouse gas emissions from vehicles. Chairman Boxer’s continued oversight on this issue is critically important, and I am proud to join with her in introducing legislation to overturn EPA’s wrongheaded decision and allow states to move forward on global warming.”

Senator Obama said, “Effectively tackling global warming demands bold and innovative solutions, and given the failure of this Administration to act, California should be allowed to pioneer. I commend Chairman Boxer for her leadership on this bill and on working to eliminate the damaging consequences of climate change around the world.”

EPA Administrator
Stephen Johnson
(Photo courtesy U.S.
Government)

Johnson himself, testifying before the committee today, reiterated all the arguments he as given before as justification for his decision to block California’s legislation, which would require a 23 percent cut in heat-trapping emissions from new cars by 2012 and a 30 percent cut in heat-trapping emissions from new cars by 2016.

“I believe that it is preferable, as a matter of policy, to have uniform national standards to address fuel economy issues across the entire fleet of domestic and foreign manufactured vehicles sold in the United States. I just think this is common sense,” he said.

Johnson said he expects his decision to be challenged in court once it has been published in the Federal Register.

Scientists, lawyers and other specialists working within the EPA are expressing dismay about Johnson’s lack of “credibility” in explaining his decision to reject a request by California to regulate greenhouse gases from automobiles, according to a joint letter from labor unions released today by Public Employees for Environmental Responsibility, PEER.

The joint letter is signed by presidents of locals from four unions – the American Federation of Government Employees, the Engineers and Scientists of California, the National Association of Government Employees, and the National Treasury Employees Union. These unions represent thousands of EPA scientists, engineers and other technical specialists.

This morning, Johnson was grilled by members of the Senate Committee on Environment and Public Works. His sworn testimony and answers only seemed to fuel doubts about the merits of his decision, said PEER Executive Director Jeff Ruch.

In today’s hearing, Johnson revealed, for the first time, that he was motivated to act abruptly due to reports of inaccurate “leaks” from his staff. Meanwhile, Johnson is defying Congressional requests for full release of documents detailing the recommendations from his technical and legal staff.

“By his performance today, Stephen Johnson forfeited whatever shred of credibility he once enjoyed,” said Ruch.

Ruch observes that Johnson’s decision was represented as the product of months of legal and scientific deliberation yet Johnson cited the energy bill signed just that morning as the principal basis for his veto of state action.

“There will be a growing chorus from Congress, his own employees and the public for Johnson to step down,” Ruch said.

The ranking Republican member of the committee, Senator James Inhofe of Oklahoma, will not join that chorus.

Inhofe supports denial of the waiver, he said today. “When we focus on the substance of the debate, it seems clear to me that the waiver petition should be denied, and I encourage Administrator Johnson to formally make a final decision to do so.”

“In every instance when California was granted a waiver in the past, it was to address “compelling and extraordinary conditions” in the State. And that is the standard, as clearly spelled out in 209(b) of the Clean air Act,” said Inhofe. “Tell me how California differs from other States when it comes to global warming? Carbon is a global issue, not a local one. In that regard, California is ordinary, not extraordinary.”

“In fact, I think it is certainly relevant that California cannot show harm from global warming over the last two decades because temperatures there have been declining, not increasing, as this chart shows,” said Inhofe, a long-standing climate change skeptic.

California also will not bear the burden of implementing the Clean Car law, that would be born by other states, said Inhofe. “My own state of Oklahoma has 27,000 auto related jobs. Of course, that is dwarfed by states like Michigan. In comparison, in addition to Michigan, states represented on this Committee such as Missouri, Ohio and Tennessee have two to six times as many.”

But not all Republican senators agree with Inhofe. Senators Olympia Snowe and Susan Collins, both of Maine, support legislation to reverse the waiver decision.

Senator Snowe said, “I am deeply disappointed that the sdministration failed to follow the statute outlined in the Clean Air Act that allows California to adopt distinct environmental laws. This is a setback for Maine and as well as our national environmental stewardship.”

“Although I am confident that the court system will ultimately overturn this decision, I am troubled that this administration has unnecessarily delayed enactment of a strong curtailment of greenhouse gas emissions,” Snowe said. “This legislation will allow the states to move forward with enacting strong reductions in green house gas emissions filling the void of federal action.”

Senator Collins said, “Climate change is one of the most daunting challenges we face and we must develop reasonable solutions to reduce our greenhouse gas emissions. If states, like my home state of Maine, establish reasonable standards to help address this serious problem, the federal government should not stand in the way.”

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JACKSONVILLE, Florida, December 19, 2007 (ENS) – Four workers were killed by an explosion today at a chemical plant in Jacksonville that manufactures environmentally friendly industrial chemicals.

The blast occurred at the T2 Laboratories on Faye Road in an industrial district on the waterfront in north Jacksonville. The explosion sent a thick cloud of black smoke over the area that could be seen from the city’s downtown business district.

More than 70 firefighters and every hazardous materials crew in Jacksonville attended the scene of the explosion.

People within a half mile radius of the lab were evacuated. The evacuation order was lifted just after 4 pm local time after the fire was under control and air tests showed no hazardous chemicals.

This afternoon fire and rescue personnel confirmed that three people were killed and more than a dozen others were taken to area hospitals. At first, six people were thought to be missing, but three have been locate, said fire rescue spokesman Tom Francis. Later in the day, officials confirmed that another person also died as a result of the blast.

The Occupational Safety and Health Administration and the U.S. Chemical Safety Board will be investigating the incident. The Jacksonville Sheriff’s Office homicide unit also has begun an investigation.

T2 Laboratories manufactures low environmental impact specialty chemicals that replace conventional industrial chemicals.

The company makes Ecotane® – a manganese-based octane improver for gasoline that reduces tailpipe emissions used by refineries and gasoline blenders. The additive is EPA-approved for use in the United States, and is used in more than 70 other countries.

T2 Labs specializes in the manufacture of specialty terpene solvents from citrus and pine-derived feedstocks.

The company also manufactures a number of limonene-type solvents from turpentine, the essential oil of the pine tree.

Another of the company’s solvents is made of d-limonene, a by-product of citrus oil processing used for wipe-cleaning in aerospace applications.

And T2 Labs makes a paraffin remover for oil and gas wells that it claims on its website “removes blockages and improves flow dramatically without exposing workers to hazardous chemicals.”

The company also makes biorational pesticides, derived from a variety of biological sources, including bacteria, viruses, fungi and protozoa. They are considered third-generation pesticides that are environmentally sound and closely resemble chemicals produced by insects and plants.

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With the What’s the Big Idea? Contest [www.sundancechannel.com] in full swing here at the Sundance Channel (have you submitted your big idea yet? Why not?), we thought it’d be a good opportunity to take a look at a few other “big ideas” that are just a few twists and turns (and maybe a contest win?) away from making a big impact toward a greener planet. First on the list: hydrogen fuel cell-powered transportation, exemplified by the env bike [www.fuelcellsworks.com].

Pronounced “envy,” the env bike is the world’s first purpose-built fuel cell vehicle (for a quick primer on fuel cell’s, and how they work, see Wikipedia’s entry [en.wikipedia.org]. Basically, fuel cells produce electricity while emitting only water vapor). It uses a fuel cell that’s about the size of a suitcase (it fits beneath the seat; see a picture of it below) to create a maximum of six kilowatts, which powers the bike up to 50 miles per hour and a range of about 100 miles (or four hours – whichever comes first). In addition to creating zero tailpipe emissions, the bike is also virtually silent. In many ways, it’s similar to the Tesla Roadster [www.sundancechannel.com]: sexy design promoting a new and potentially revolutionary fuel technology, but the env bike takes it a step further by using a fuel cell instead of batteries to make it go. It really works, too; check out this video [www.treehugger.com] that shows it in action.

Of course, there are a few reasons that fuel cells are still a “big idea” rather than a “green reality,” and the biggest of these reasons is the availability of the catalyst fuel; hydrogen, in this case (but that’s another post). If/when fuel cells become viable, the possibilities are virtually endless; in the case of the env bike, “the core” (their name for their fuel cell) has been designed to be portable and flexible. Imagine: you could take it from your house, where it’s powering your kitchen appliances, and plug it in to the bike, which you could then ride to the grocery store (and maybe stop to get a recharge of hydrogen). When you get home, it goes back to powering your house, and “round and “round goes the cycle, producing clean power all the way. Happily, the env bike may not just be a big idea much longer; they recently partnered up with the Suzuki Motor Corporation [www.intelligent-energy.com], to deliver “a series of advanced, compact and lightweight fuel cell systems, which are intended to become an integral part of Suzuki’s future motor products.” So cross your fingers that we’ll be seeing more of the env bike soon, and stay tuned for more big ideas.