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...plan settles a dispute between the state of California and the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) that dates back to George W. Bush's White House. Under the Clean Air Act, California has the right to enforce air-pollution standards that are tougher than the rest of the nation's rules - provided the EPA gives it a waiver. In the past, such waivers had been all but automatic - but when California tried to pass stricter emissions standards for vehicles, the Bush EPA balked, setting up a string of legal battles. California pressed its right to green its millions of cars...
When Obama came into office in January, he promised that the EPA would review California's waiver requests. But instead of simply giving the green light to California, Obama will also largely incorporate the state's proposed rules into a new and tougher fuel-economy standard for the entire nation. The new rules will tighten fuel-efficiency requirements more slowly than California had wanted - to give the auto industry time to adjust - but ultimately the nation's automakers will end up meeting the same standards as California by model year...
What's most notable about the proposed regulations - and what gives environmentalists hope for further action on climate change - is Obama's apparent success in bringing the U.S. auto industry to the table. Automakers have fought long and hard against tougher fuel-economy standards, claiming such rules would raise the cost of vehicles and that consumers have shown little preference for more fuel-efficient models. But major auto executives, such as General Motors' new CEO, Fritz Henderson, are expected stand alongside Obama at the White House on Tuesday when the President makes his announcement, signaling their support. "It will establish...
...still have to go through the usual period of commenting, and there's always a chance that such a fragile coalition of politicians, greens and auto executives could collapse. But the very fact the White House brought - and kept - everyone at the table offers some hope as the much tougher battle over carbon cap and trade boils in Congress. "President Obama made the creation of a clean-energy economy a key aspect of his domestic agenda, and he's fulfilling that," says Weiss. It's a good start - but there's still a long road ahead...
With Jolie-dom off the menu, Suleman has reportedly sought a reality-TV deal. But cracking today's field of giant-family reality shows could prove tougher than giving birth to octuplets. TLC, once the Learning Channel, is now so devoted to breeding, it could be called the Labor Channel. It airs Jon & Kate Plus 8 (a family with eight kids), Table for 12 (10 kids) and 18 Kids and Counting (you guessed it), about the Duggar family, which evidently plans to exhaust the J chapter in the baby-name book (Josh, Jana, John David, Jill...