Monday, January 26, 2009

Obama orders push to cleaner, more efficient cars

Obama directed the Environmental Protection Agency to review whether or not California and other states should be allowed to impose tougher auto emission standards on carmakers to fight greenhouse gases. The new standards will affect cars sold in 2011. He also hopes this will limit America's dependency on foreign oil. However, Obama's plan to try to help the environment has gotten the auto industry worried. The carmakers are concern with the costly regulations these new standards will cause when car sales are already low. Car sales dropped 18% last year. Those like House Republican leader John Boehner believe that "the effect of this policy will be to destroy American jobs at the very time government leaders should be working together to protect and create them." Obama responded by saying that "our goal is not to further burden an already struggling industry. It is to help America's automakers prepare for the future."

1 comment:

David said...

While I can't get very excited about more loss of jobs, I think that this is something that has been overlooked for far too long. Emissions are a serious problem and IMO the various governments should have enforced this long ago. I know that there have been several bills and such to that effect, but they are always being delayed, or lessened. I think that if this problem had been addressed when it should have been, we wouldn't have had to worry about more jobless Americans.