11 states sue over mileage standards

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Source: insidebayarea.com

11 states sue over mileage standards
Plaintiffs dissatisfied with low value assigned to greenhouse-gas emissions
By Josh Richman, STAFF WRITER
Article Last Updated: 05/15/2007 02:52:31 AM PDT


SAN FRANCISCO — The Bush administration violated federal law by adopting weak gas-mileage standards that ignore global warming and America's foreign-oil addiction, lawyers for 11 states and other plaintiffs argued Monday in a federal appeals court.

Before the hearing, California Attorney General Jerry Brown stood on the courthouse steps decrying the "pathetic and illegal" standards as "a travesty" requiring judicial intervention.

"The federal government did not look at the available technologies" before setting these softball standards that do little or nothing to curb global warming and foreign-oil dependence, Brown said, but merely reward the administration's corporate cronies. "I don't think Karl Rove could've done a better job."

But U.S. Justice Department attorney ThomasByron III argued the federal government properly balanced economic impact, automobile safety standards and feasible technology as well as environmental and other concerns in developing its standards "in a way that benefits the entire country the most."



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