Vermont could clear way for new U.S. emissions rules

C. E. White · 2007-05-11T22:17:46+00:00

I saw this article and thought the comment on Toyota hybrids near the bottom was interesting- "While hybrid technology has raised manufacturing costs, Toyota Motor Corp., maker of the Prius hybrid, expects cost-cutting on hybrid production to make the cars as profitable as traditional gasoline models by 2010. By that point it expects to be selling 1 million hybrids a year."**********************************************Vermont could clear way for new U.S. emissions rulesReuters |May 11, 2007 - 9:00 amBOSTON (Reuters) -- A Vermont judge could soon clear the way for nearly a dozen states to surmount auto industry protests and limit emissions from cars and light trucks to protect the environment, legal experts said.The rural northeastern state in 2005 followed California's lead in calling for a 30 percent cut in the amount of carbon dioxide, the main gas blamed for global warming, emitted from automobiles starting with 2009 models. U.S. automakers have sued both states, and Rhode Island, seeking to have the rules overturned.Vermont's suit is the first to go to trial.Arguments wrapped up on Tuesday, May 8, after nearly a month of testimony, and legal experts expect U.S. District Court Judge William Sessions to rule before September."This will be an important signal to the other cases, so I do anticipate that there will be an important precedent set in this case," said Daniel Esty, the director of Yale University's Center for Environmental Law and Policy.The Vermont trial began shortly after the U.S. Supreme Court ruled in an unrelated case that carbon dioxide can be regulated as a pollutant, rejecting a 2003 argument by the federal Environmental Protection Agency that it did not have authority over carbon dioxide.That finding, legal experts said, weakened the auto industry's argument that the 10 states that have adopted the rules are overreaching in regulating carbon dioxide emissions. Fuel efficiency is federally regulated."I expect Vermont to win, and I think the...

May 11, 2007 22 Replies

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n5hsr 19 years ago

I'm still waitng.

Charles of Schaumburg

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n5hsr 19 years ago

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Edwin Pawlowski 19 years ago

Great idea. I'd bet Al Gore would buy them to fuel his big house.

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