{"id":518924,"date":"2010-04-07T08:22:21","date_gmt":"2010-04-07T12:22:21","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/climateprogress.org\/?p=22561"},"modified":"2010-04-07T08:22:21","modified_gmt":"2010-04-07T12:22:21","slug":"cuccinelli%e2%80%99s-climate-denial-lawsuits-could-junk-auto-industry%e2%80%99s-recovery","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/mereja.media\/index\/518924","title":{"rendered":"Cuccinelli\u2019s climate denial lawsuits could junk auto industry\u2019s recovery"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"\"Virginia\u2019s extremist attorney general, Ken Cuccinelli (R-VA), is threatening the recovery of the American auto industry with new climate denial lawsuits.\u00a0 Wonk Room’s Brad Johnson has the story<\/a>.<\/p>\n

<\/span>To the applause of automakers, Environmental Protection Agency and Department of Transportation finalized landmark new fuel economy standards<\/a> last week, completing President Obama\u2019s campaign promise<\/a>. Cuccinelli has already filed a lawsuit<\/a> challenging the Environmental Protection Agency\u2019s finding that greenhouse gas emissions endanger the public, claiming that hacked \u201cClimategate\u201d emails prove a conspiracy by scientists involved with the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) to replace real science with \u201cpolitical science.\u201d In response to the new fuel economy standards \u2014 the first rules to take into account greenhouse pollution \u2014 Cuccinelli is filing yet another lawsuit<\/a>, according to spokesman Brian Gottstein:<\/p>\n

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In that motion, the attorney general\u2019s office asked the EPA to reopen its proceedings in light of the recent evidence that the reports the EPA was relying on for its decision contained erroneous and\/or unverifiable global temperature and other data. We will file a notice of appeal with respect to today\u2019s ruling<\/strong>.<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n

Cuccinelli\u2019s suit against the science of global warming is baseless, as numerous Virginia climatologists<\/a> have told the Wonk Room. Furthermore, the auto industry stands fully behind this new program<\/a>,\u201d as Dave McCurdy, President and CEO of the Alliance of Automobile Manufacturers has written.<\/p>\n

Killing the endangerment finding \u2014 as numerous state legislatures, attorneys general, and lawmakers in Congress are trying to do \u2014 would destroy the stakeholders\u2019 fuel economy agreement. The United Auto Workers describe that \u201cCalifornia and other states have agreed to forgo state-level regulation of tailpipe emissions and abide by the new national standard that will be created by these NHTSA and EPA rules.\u201d If the denier Dirty Air Act efforts go through, UAW explains the \u201ccritically important progress<\/a>\u201d will be \u201coverturned\u201d:<\/p>\n

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However, the critically important progress that was achieved with this historic agreement will be undermined if EPA\u2019s endangerment finding is overturned. Without this finding, EPA will not be able to proceed with its current rulemaking on light duty vehicles<\/strong>. If the joint rulemaking process collapses, NHTSA has indicated that it will not be able to meet the statutory timetable for implementing any fuel economy increases for the 2012 model year. And in the absence of the EPA standard, California and other states would certainly move forward with their standards, thereby subjecting auto manufacturers to all of the burdens that the one national standard was designed to avoid.<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n

The fears of UAW that multi-state standards would be catastrophic are a self-fulfilling prophecy. Even though the American auto industry can certainly handle multi-state standards, a return to the Bush era of recrimination and lawsuit instead of a focus on competitiveness and innovation would be crippling. Cuccinelli is not only wasting taxpayer money trying to overturn EPA\u2019s scientific finding, he\u2019s trying to dismantle the historic agreement that all stakeholders agree will create American jobs and increase national competitiveness.<\/p>\n

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