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Publication info: The Economist (Online) ; London (Apr 17, 2022).
ABSTRACT (ENGLISH)
First is California’s unique ability among America’s states to set its own standards for vehicle emissions. Officials
enacted exhaust-emissions limits in 1966 to try to tame the city’s noxious smog. Because California’s rules
predated the Air Quality Act of 1967 and the Clean Air Act of 1970, when federal officials first set national
standards for air quality, the feds granted the state waivers which allowed it to set its own, stricter pollution rules.
[...]California has the cash and manpower to invest in climate mitigation and adaptation. [...]Californians have been
suffering the effects of climate change for years.
FULL TEXT
The energy crunch offers the state a chance to live up to its green reputation
THE GLOBAL energy crunch caused by Vladimir Putin’s invasion of Ukraine has given Joe Biden’s presidency a
slogan usually associated with Republicans crowing about energy independence: “drill, baby, drill”. In addition to
releasing 1m barrels of oil a day from America’s Strategic Petroleum Reserve, the Interior Department will resume
new lease sales for oil and gas drilling on public lands, reneging on Mr Biden’s campaign promise to end the
practice. Sounding less like a Republican, the president has also suggested that long-term energy independence
would come only from weaning America off fossil fuels.
The pain at the pump is most agonising in California. On April 14th the average price of a gallon of petrol in
America was $4.07; in highway-laden Los Angeles it was $5.82 a gallon. Yet for all its gas-guzzling, California also
claims to be America’s greenest state. In a recent speech Gavin Newson, the state’s Democratic governor,
proclaimed that “California has no peers” on climate policy. His proposed annual budget includes a $22.5bn
climate wishlist that would invest in electrifying transport, shoring up public-transit infrastructure and protecting
people from droughts and fires. This follows decades of ambitious environmental policy that has influenced
officials in other states, in the federal government and abroad. How will the Golden State’s green reputation hold
up at a time of deepening energy worries?
Two policies stand out for their impact within the state and beyond. First is California’s unique ability among
America’s states to set its own standards for vehicle emissions. In the 20th century, Los Angeles’s booming
population, topography and sprawling port contaminated its air. The sky was so filthy one summer day in 1943
that Angelenos worried they were victims of a gas attack related to the war. Officials enacted exhaust-emissions
limits in 1966 to try to tame the city’s noxious smog.
Because California’s rules predated the Air Quality Act of 1967 and the Clean Air Act of 1970, when federal officials
first set national standards for air quality, the feds granted the state waivers which allowed it to set its own, stricter
pollution rules. California has applied for more than 100 waivers since 1967. Today, states can choose to adopt the
Environmental Protection Agency’s (EPA) rules for vehicle emissions, or California’s. By 2022, 16 states followed
California’s standards. The state’s laser focus on car exhaust stems from twin concerns: local air pollution and the
global climate crisis. Transport accounts for 29% of greenhouse-gas emissions in America and fully 41% in
California.
Los Angeles’s air quality is still often foul, but it has improved a lot over the past 40 years (see chart). Yet the
Trump administration revoked California’s waiver in 2019, arguing that it should not set standards for other states.
DETAILS
Subject: Gasoline; Electricity; Emissions; Electric vehicles; Strategic petroleum reserve; Air
pollution; Political campaigns; Prices; Energy; Waivers; Governors; Environmental
policy; Climate change
Location: Texas; United States--US; New York; Colorado; California; Los Angeles California
Copyright: Copyright The Economist Newspaper NA, Inc. Apr 17, 2022
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