As the new home of OSPIRG's environmental work, Environment Oregon can be contacted regarding this article.
EUGENE,
Ore. (AP) — Oregon-produced greenhouse gases could decline by about 12
percent within the next 15 years if a Democratically-backed move to
require cleaner cars can survive a legal challenge by Republicans,
according to a new study.
The
Oregon State Public Interest Research Group told The Register-Guard of
Eugene that its calculations show that the gas reductions from Oregon's
clean car program would equal the exhaust of 350,000 cars.
In
August, Gov. Ted Kulongoski crossed out a condition that lawmakers had
attached to a budget bill during the 2005 session, in an attempt to bar
the administration from spending money to adopt California's strict car
emissions standards.
Republicans,
led by Senate Minority Leader Ted Ferrioli, R-John Day, fired back
right away, joining with the Alliance of Automobile Manufacturers and
more than a dozen Oregon car dealers to challenge Kulongoski's
line-item veto in court.
The
lawsuit filed in the Marion County Circuit Court contends that the
governor can use his authority to delete a single spending program from
appropriations bills but not a "legislative condition" set on a
particular program.
The
law in question would require automakers to figure out how to reduce
emissions, for instance, by developing more electric/gas hybrids or
improving emissions control technology.
All of the attorneys in the automakers vs. Oregon lawsuit have asked the court for an expedited review.
In
the meantime, Oregon emissions regulators are preparing to formally
adopt the California standards by the end of the year. The new
standards would take effect in 2009.
Greg
Remensperger, the Oregon Auto Dealers Association's executive vice
president, questioned the report's contention that the California
standards won't make cars that much cleaner.
"It's
not really going to make that big of an impact on the environment," he
said. "Oregon has clean air. This is not viewed as a state that's in
jeopardy."
Though
Oregon is a small state with only 3.6 million residents, its decision
to follow the California example will have a disproportionate effect,
said Isaac Silverman, who worked on the OSPIRG report.
The
Washington Legislature passed a similar measure in May with a provision
that the requirement would take effect only if Oregon institutes the
stricter standards. Washington's participation would bring 6.2 million
additional residents under the requirement.
That would create a clean car corridor from Canada to Mexico, Silverman said.
