In a philosophically incongruous fit of federalism, the EPA may be poised to tell California it doesn’t have the authority to adopt stricter vehicle emission standards than the federal government.
At least that’s the way a bipartisan group of senators, including Maine’s Olympia J. Snowe, see it. They’ve written a letter to the agency urging them to let California move ahead with the stringent regulations, which are designed to curb greenhouse gases and global warming.
Snowe isn’t doing this because she’s courting the Malibu or Marin County vote; she’s doing it because if the feds won’t allow California to adopt strong standards, they’re not likely to let Maine — also plagued with air pollution — do so either. We’ll see if the administration that came to power arguing for states’s rights really believes in them.
