Arnold Schwarzenegger: Trump Can’t Erase a Decade of Clean Air Progress with a Sharpie
by Arnold Schwarzenegger (Washington Post) California has been a leader in the fight to clean our air since one of my heroes, Ronald Reagan, was our governor. The Trump administration, for some reason, is hellbent on reversing decades of history and progress. Whether it is political pettiness, shortsightedness or just plain jealousy, I couldn’t tell you. I can tell you that it’s wrong. It’s un-American. And it’s an affront to long-standing conservative principles.
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Historically, it worked well. We set our standards, and the federal government didn’t just respect our authority, it generally made our rules the standard for the entire nation.
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How many times have you heard conservatives beat the drum of states’ rights? But suddenly, when a state wants to pollute less and protect its citizens from deadly pollution, conservatives throw states’ rights straight out the window. Nixon and Reagan understood the importance of California’s right to clean air, but some so-called Republicans today seem to only believe in states’ rights when it’s convenient, when the state voted for their party, or when the state is doing something really dumb.
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How many times have you heard Republicans talk about being pro-business? But now, when automakers plead with the administration that they don’t want the Stone Age standards the White House is fighting for, some Republicans aren’t acting very pro-business. This administration is even taking the extraordinary step of investigating four companies — Ford, Honda, BMW and Volkswagen — that made an agreement with California to reduce their emissions.
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We know pollution sickens and kills hundreds of thousands; the administration’s own EPA says lowering the automobile standard will literally kill more people. But suddenly public safety doesn’t matter much anymore.
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Last year, the U.S. economy grew by 2.9 percent . California’s economy, with our supposedly crippling regulations, grew by 3.5 percent . We’ve outpaced the nation’s economic growth even as we’ve protected our people.
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That’s a big reason nearly half of the venture capital in the United States comes to California. Businesses aren’t just thinking about their talking points for their next campaign. They’re planning for five years, 10 years, 20 years. Businesses must have long-term vision to succeed.
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Knee-jerk reactionary policies such as the move to revoke our clean air waiver create uncertainty. READ MORE
The Interaction of the Clean Air Act, California’s CAA Waiver, Corporate Average Fuel Economy Standards, Renewable Fuel Standards and California’s Low Carbon Fuel Standard (Advanced Biofuels USA)
U.S. moving to block California vehicle emissions rules (Reuters)
