Obama EPA Emissions in the News
Tuesday, January 27, 2009
It is expected that the new Obama administration will make some big changes to the EPA. Well, actually, not so much make big changes as change the big changes of the previous administration…
So what’s the gist?
First off, Obama’s EPA will charge the federal agency with regulating Carbon Dioxide, a greenhouse gas, as a vehicle pollutant. A direct opposite tack to the Bush EPA, which saw its hands-off CO2 policy reprimanded by none other than the Supreme Court.
The long-expected increased MPG mandates for autos figure to ramp up sooner to cut CO2 emissions, following California’s lead.
For a long time the Golden State has been granted special waivers from the EPA to enact stiffer emissions regulations, for autos and motorcycles. During the Bush administration a number of other states, a dozen, requested EPA waivers to increase their own regs to match CA. The Bush-appointed EPA chief, Stephen Johnson, put the kibosh on these requests. It is expected that the Obama administration will reverse this decision.
What does this mean to motorcycles?
The answer is nothing, for now. The new rules apply to autos. The precedent of multiple waivers, however, could lead to variable emissions rules from state to state for autos and, potentially, for motorcycles.
Post Tags: motorcycle emissions, obama epa emissions
