Comments on: California’s EPA Waiver: Does it Still Matter?

By: Michael

Michael — Thu, 16 Jul 2009 22:04:09 +0000

This is just another example of stupid politics in action. The car companies are already bankrupt, so these self centered egotists add yet another layer of bureauracracy to building cars, and for what? Just so they can say they did it, while China and India spew out CO2 like there is no tomorrow? This is a waste. There should be one national standard, and that’s it. CARB now represents everything that is wrong with California, inefficient and wasteful. They served a purpose at one time, but their time is over, as is pretty obvious when they try to regulate paint reflectivity. I see nothing useful coming out of CARB anymore. They should let the EPA do the job, shut CARB down, and save the taxpayers the money on these bloated, egregious bureaucrat’s salaries and benefits.

By: Bernadette Del Chiaro

Bernadette Del Chiaro — Tue, 14 Jul 2009 05:06:20 +0000

California’s leadership in reducing global warming pollution and spurring technological innovation is illustrated once again with the Obama Administration’s final granting of the Clean Cars Waiver. The previous writer is perhaps splitting hairs over semantics or is simply wrong.

Under the agreement reached between California and the Obama Administration, and then reinforced by the actual granting of the waiver, California and the other states adopting California’s clean cars standards can start reducing CO2 emission from tailpipes immediately instead of waiting until 2013 when the federal standards kick in. At that point, the previous writer is correct, the federal standards will, mostly by default, take affect in California and everywhere else.

As for Pavley II, this is the next phase and one that has yet to be developed. It, along with a revision to the Zero Emission Vechicle program and the Low Emission Vehicle program, also administered by CARB, are the next policy drivers of clean cars in America.

By: Erasure25

Erasure25 — Mon, 13 Jul 2009 08:21:09 +0000

I’m afraid this article provides misinformation regarading the importance of the EPA waiver to California.

When the Obama Administration announced the federal plans to increase fuel economy to 35.5 MPG (30 MPG for trucks, 39 MPG for passenger cars) by 2016, California and all states currently adopting the California standarsd agreed to defer to the federal standards if granted a waiver by the EPA. This means that there is one national standard through model year 2016, even if California gets its waiver (which it did).

However, the California standards includes a second phase of reductions that will phase in after 2016. These are referred to as the Pavley Phase II standards. This is why it was still important for California to obtain the waiver. The Phase II standards are a key strategy for the state to achieve the reductions necessary to meet AB 32.

This article is incorrect in that California will not be able to “jump start” the reductions. California will still follow the federal path up until 2016, after which time, California will be able to implement the Phase II standards achieving even greater CO2 reductions so that the state can meet 1990 levels by 2020.

By: New GM will cover future product-liability claims « CarZonline Blog

New GM will cover future product-liability claims « CarZonline Blog — Wed, 01 Jul 2009 20:58:50 +0000

[...] California’s EPA Waiver: Does it Still Matter? | KQED’s Climate Watch “The waiver affirms California’s authority to set the standards for the cleanest cars in the nation and recognizes the ability of forward-thinking states to continue to adopt them. Now we can begin to work with the manufacturers to make … KQED’s Climate Watch – http://blogs.kqed.org/climatewatch/ [...]