Public Comments Needed: Keep Clean Car Emissions Standards

TAKE ACTION! By 2030, the pollution equivalent of this rollback will be like firing up 30 coal power plants.

Emissions from transportation make up the largest share of air pollution in the United States. The pollution pumped out of cars’ tailpipes, from ozone to particulate matter, is linked to asthma, bronchitis, and 30,000 premature deaths each year. But now the future of the nation’s tailpipe pollution protections is under attack. The Trump administration is charging ahead with a plan that would unleash tailpipe pollution across the country, and we need your help to keep those protections in place. Last month, Trump’s EPA chief proposed scrapping one of the country’s biggest public health victories in recent years — the clean car emissions standards — and proclaimed that states like California shouldn’t have the legal authority to set their own, safer limits on tailpipe pollution. Earthjustice is part of a coalition already challenging preliminary portions of the rollbacks in court, but we need your help to stop the EPA’s new proposal. The first step in any federal rulemaking process is a public comment period, and you only have until October 23 to raise your voice. Tell the EPA that we won’t stand for its reckless rollbacks. The rollback is the latest in a long list of gifts from the Trump administration to the oil industry given at the cost of Americans’ health. By 2030, the pollution equivalent of this rollback will be like firing up 30 coal power plants. In 2025, we’ll all pay $17 billion more at the gas pump if we lose this fight. We remember the thick smog that used to choke our cities, and we refuse to return to those times. We shouldn’t have to worry about whether our air is safe to breathe. Our families deserve clean car standards that protect our health and save money at the gas pump. Everyone who breathes should be worried about the tailpipe pollution Trump’s administration wants to unleash. Our health is too valuable to cede to polluter interests and we’ve fought too hard for our clean air to lose the progress we’ve made. Today, your support is more critical than ever.

Paul Cort, Staff Attorney, Earth Justice

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Dear Forest Service,

I strongly oppose the proposal to roll back clean car standards and infringe on the longstanding authority of states to protect their citizens from air pollution. Undermining these achievable, successful, and commonsense standards will allow automakers to manufacture dirtier cars that pollute the air and harm our health. History has shown that we can simultaneously reduce tailpipe emissions of air pollutants and make our cars more fuel-efficient, safer and cheaper. Much of that leadership has come from the states. Rolling back federal vehicle standards while taking away states’ authority to protect their residents is inconsistent with federal environmental and energy conservation goals. Americans deserve clean air. We shouldn’t be rolling back the standards and safeguards that protect them.

Tell the EPA: Keep, Don’t Drop, the Current Clean Car Standards

Earlier this month, the Environmental Protection Agency unveiled a plan to roll back emissions standards for new cars. The rule change would freeze the average fuel efficiency standards at about 37 miles per gallon starting in 2021. This change would not only cost Americans more at the gas pump, but would also create billions more in costs by accelerating climate change and slowing clean car innovation.

This week, take action about this rule change by submitting a public comment to the EPA. It’s always best to make your comment as personal as possible, but if you need some help, here’s a sample comment to inspire you:

I am strongly opposed to this rule change, which will cause an increase in pollution from vehicles and cost Americans like me at the gas pump. The existing average fuel efficiency standards for the model years 2022 through 2026 were achievable and sensible. Rolling back these rules would be a step in the wrong direction, and would not result in better safety or health outcomes. The EPA's own staff dispute your methodology and your conclusions, as they are not supportable by evidence.

The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) Proposed Rule: The Safer Affordable Fuel-Efficient Vehicles Rule for Model Years 2021-2026 Passenger Cars and Light Trucks

Make your comment here.

- The Years Project 

Scott Pruitt, we have been following your real "accomplishments." Time to RESIGN!

Really!!! Scott Pruitt hung up this list of accomplishments 

The petition to EPA Administrator Scott Pruitt reads: "American taxpayers will no longer condone your corrupt administration, bankroll your expensive trips or tolerate the dismantling of our environmental protections to help your industry cronies. Resign now." Add your name:

Scott Pruitt has to go. Every day, another news story breaks about Pruitt's corrupt dealings as Trump's anti-environmental EPA administrator. He is ruling the EPA as his own personal fiefdom – taking first-class flights, using government resources for personal gain and giving away favors to his friends. Meanwhile, as Pruitt's ethical violations are making headlines, he is continuing to quietly scrap every rule that stops polluters from destroying our health and environment. Tell Scott Pruitt to resign. Click here to sign the petition. In hardly more than a year on the job, Pruitt has already made a name for himself by: Taking shady favors from lobbyists. Pruitt rented his Washington condo from an energy lobbyist's wife for an outrageously low price, then approved a pipeline project for the lobbyist's client.1 Wasting taxpayer funds on luxury travel. Taxpayers have spent more than $163,000 on Pruitt's first-class flights, charter flights and a ride on a military jet. The EPA even looked into getting him his own private jet.2 Giving giant, unapproved raises to favorite staffers. Pruitt used an obscure law to get around the fact that the White House rejected pay increases for two staff members he brought from Oklahoma. He gave them raises of 33 and 52 percent.3 Using EPA staff for personal errands. Pruitt assigned an EPA staffer to help him find housing during work hours and on the taxpayer's dime.4 Dismantling environmental protections to help out his industry friends. Newly released emails document Pruitt's long history of coziness with industry polluters.5 The biggest scandal of all is Pruitt's willingness to sell out our climate's future and our clean air and water to funnel money back to his corporate cronies. As one news story put it, the "'Most Blatantly Corrupt Trump Official' award is so close Scott Pruitt can taste it."6 New revelations about his ethical violations continue to break as he tears apart the agency he is supposed to lead. Even some congressional Republicans have started calling for Pruitt to step down.7 Enough is enough. Scott Pruitt has to go. Tell Scott Pruitt to resign. Click the link below to sign the petition: https://act.credoaction.com/sign/resign-pruitt?t=7&akid=28029%2E3130208%2ENNfGuT - Brandy Doyle, CREDO Action Add your name: References: Eric Lipton, "Pruitt had a $50-a-day condo linked to lobbyists. Their client’s project got approved." The New York Times, April 2, 2018. Margaret Hartmann, "EPA Mulled Leasing a Private Jet, and Other Scandalous Scott Pruitt Revelations," New York Magazine, April 4, 2018. Juliet Eilperin and Brady Dennis, "Top Pruitt aide at EPA also shopped for housing on his behalf," Washington Post, April 2, 2018. Ibid. Brady Dennis and Steven Mufson, "Thousands of emails detail EPA head’s close ties to fossil fuel industry," The Washington Post, Feb. 22, 2018. Bess Levin, "Most Blatantly Corrupt Trump Official' award is so close Scott Pruitt can taste it," Vanity Fair, March 30, 2018. Juliet Eilperin, Brady Dennis and Josh Dawsey, "EPA’s Scott Pruitt faces intensifying scrutiny, criticism of his ethics decisions," The Washington Post, April 3, 2018. Note from Jana at Desktop Activist Tucson I have posted SO MANY calls to action fighting the devastation that Scott Pruitt is aggressively enacting on our land, water and air. Not to mention our health! His actions to delay implementing (and dismantle) the Clean Power Plan hurt my personal efforts to stop the permit for TEP's 10 RICE gas-fired generators.  It's odd to me that it takes this condo scandal to prove this man is corrupt so we can finally get rid of him. He should be prosecuted with the full strength of the law for his crimes against humanity! More information on Pruitt's "accomplishments" 3 environmental regulations Scott Pruitt has been dismantling amid his scandals Scott Pruitt is slowly strangling the EPA The Ten Worst Things Scott Pruitt’s EPA Has Already Done

Tell Ford: Stop working with Trump to undo clean car standards

The petition to Ford reads: "Honor your commitment to reducing carbon emissions and fighting climate change. Stop working with the Trump administration to delay, weaken or block the clean car standards." Add your name:

Donald Trump and Environmental Protection Agency head Scott Pruitt can claim another partner in their war against curbing climate change: Ford Motor Company. While Ford advertises its commitment to building fuel efficient and electric vehicles, the company is simultaneously working hand-in-hand with the Trump regime to weaken the "clean car standards," Obama-era rules meant to increase fuel efficiency, reduce pollution and help curb climate change.1 Ford is putting profits ahead of protecting public health and the environment by working to undermine the very rules it once hailed and now continues to publicly promote. We must urge Ford to honor its commitment to the clean car standards and stop working with the Trump regime to weaken these critical safeguards. Tell Ford: Stop working with Trump to roll back clean car standards. Click here to sign the petition. Ford's hypocrisy and opportunism is astounding. As recently as last summer, Ford released a slick video in which Chairman Bill Ford greenwashed the company’s commitment to sustainability. The Chairman told his consumers and the outside world that "climate change is real and a critical threat" and that the company would "work with leaders around the world in support of ambitious global greenhouse gas reduction targets."2 Yet, at the same time, the company's powerful lobbyists at the Alliance for Automobile Manufacturing have been meeting with the Trump administration and even testifying in front of the Republican-controlled Congress to roll back regulations. A company that touts its commitment to addressing climate change has no business meeting with the Trump regime.3 The clean car standards are good for consumers, public health and the environment. If the U.S. government fully implements these critical protections by 2025, they will reduce oil consumption by 12 billion barrels, save consumers $1 trillion at the pump and reduce greenhouse gas emissions by 6 billion metric tons — the equivalent of 150 coal-fired plants or 1.3 million cars.4 It's no wonder the clean car standards are extremely popular. In fact, 95 percent of Americans want auto manufacturers to improve fuel economy for cars, and nearly 80 percent believe the government must continue increasing fuel efficient standards.5 Our environmental and consumer protection allies are ramping up the pressure on Ford to drop its collaboration with the Trump regime.6 We must ensure Ford honors its promise to reducing emissions and stop working to undo years of to progress to protect our environment and climate. Tell Ford: Stop working with Trump to roll back clean car standards. Click the link below to sign the petition: https://act.credoaction.com/sign/ford_clean_car?t=7&akid=27400%2E3130208%2ENsnauH - Josh Nelson, CREDO Action Add your name: References: Environment America, "Earth to Ford: Get Back on Track With Clean Cars," EcoWatch, Jan. 25, 2018. Sustainable Brands, "New Ford Sustainability Report Reveals Progress on Water Stewardship Goals," Aug. 31, 2017. Public Citizen, "Ford Receives 2018 Hypocrisy Award for Promoting Innovation and Sustainability While Colluding With Trump to Undo Climate Safeguards," Jan. 9, 2018. Sierra Club, "Go ‘Forward Not Backward’: Environmental and Consumer Groups Launch Campaign Calling on Ford, Volkswagen and Other Automakers to Drop Efforts to Roll Back Clean Car Standards," Oct. 25, 2017. National Resources Defense Council, "'Floor It:' NRDC Poll Shows Broad Bipartisan Backing for Clean Cars and Clean Transportation," Aug. 4, 2016. Leon Kaye, "Ford Called Out for Undermining Fuel Standards While Promoting Sustainability," Triple Pundit, Jan. 11, 2018.