Arguments in Federal Gas Mileage Suit

[cal04]

Lawyers for 11 states and several environmental groups told a federal appeals court Monday that the Bush administration failed to consider global warming when setting new gas mileage rules.

The plaintiffs, led by California's attorney general, told the 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals that federal regulators ignored the effects of carbon dioxide emissions when calculating fuel economy standards for light trucks and sport-utility vehicles.

The new mileage standards, announced in March 2006, require an increase in the average fuel economy for all passenger trucks sold in the United States from 22.2 miles per gallon to 23.5 miles per gallon by 2010. The Department of Transportation says the new mileage standards would save the U.S. about 10.7 billion gallons of gasoline.

Speaking outside the courthouse, Attorney General Jerry Brown called the increase ``pathetic'' and said it ``has the hand of lobbying, not the mind of science.''

http://www.guardian.co.uk/worldlatest/story/0,,-6632955,00.html