Trump fuel-economy proposal writes off rising global temperatures

Smokestacks pollution air qualityIt's not that the Trump administration doesn't believe in climate change. It just doesn't want to do anything about it. In a 500-page draft environmental impact statement concerning the EPA's and NHTSA's joint proposal to roll back fuel-economy and emissions regulations, the NHTSA reports that it expects global temperatures to rise by 7 degrees...

EPA reportedly plans to eliminate science office

EPA Acting Administrator Andrew WheelerScience looks to no longer be a high priority at the EPA. The New York Times reported Thursday that the EPA plans to eliminate the powerful Office of the Science Advisor, merging it with another office under the Deputy Administrator for Science. The move represents a significant demotion of the science advisory role. Previously the Office of the...

Gas guzzling now A-OK, Trump administration says

Oil well (photo by John Hill)Following news that the EPA dropped plans to keep boosting fuel-economy standards, it quietly dropped another bombshell: It's now fine to guzzle gas. Burn as much as you want. According to an AP report carried by the Detroit News, the Energy Department quietly released the news online in a memo in July in support of freezing fuel economy...

EPA plans to roll back emissions standards on power plants

Smokestacks pollution air qualityAfter wiping out plans to continue boosting fuel economy standards earlier this month, the EPA on Tuesday proposed rolling back emissions standards on electric power plants. The new proposed rule, which the EPA calls the "Affordable Clean Energy" rule, would eliminate Obama-era standards that would have required power plants to reduce carbon...

OpEd: Who pays for principle in Trump’s war on lower emissions and trade?

Exhaust emissions from tailpipe [photo: Simone Ramella, 2005, used under Creative Commons 2.0]Last week the Trump administration unveiled a broad drawdown of fuel-economy regulations that had been aimed at cutting emissions from passenger vehicles. In the 978-page proposal, administration officials argued those rules implemented by the Obama administration would create lighter, potentially more fuel-efficient vehicles that would be less...

California warns it won’t follow lower EPA fuel economy, emissions rules

Traffic at the I-10 & I-405 interchange in Los Angeles, California (by Mario Roberto Duran Ortiz)In response to an EPA proposal to freeze emissions and fuel economy standards, California said it will not honor federal vehicle certifications if the proposal goes through. "The California Air Resources Board (CARB) has proposed amending the California Low-Emission Vehicle III Greenhouse Gas Emission Regulation to ensure that cars and light-duty...