Insisting That the EPA Do Its Job for Clean Air
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Re “Suit Cites Global Warming to Mask a Grab for Power,” Commentary, Dec. 5: In an odd polemic, Benjamin Zycher first accuses me (along with the attorneys general of 10 other states) of a power grab for insisting that the federal government do its job under the Clean Air Act by regulating greenhouse gas emissions. Then he says I am giving away states’ rights by insisting on federal action. Neither of these contradictory arguments is true.
The Clean Air Act requires that the Environmental Protection Agency regulate pollutants, and it gives California the right to impose more stringent regulations. This is the law, and it deserves to be enforced. The Bush administration’s complete and abject failure to regulate greenhouse gases ignores the Clean Air Act and has implications for the health, environment and economies of all states and their citizens.
My lawsuit against the EPA isn’t about a power grab. It’s about enforcing the law and getting the EPA to do its job. It’s about taking a stand for our future, facing the threat of global warming head-on and acting to address it. If the Bush administration won’t act, then California and other states must and will.
Bill Lockyer
California Attorney General
Sacramento
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