Obama told the federal Environmental Protection Agency on Monday to reconsider immediately a request by California to impose its own strict limits on vehicles’ carbon dioxide emissions, blamed for contributing to global warming. After the Bush administration denied the request, California and other states sued the federal government.
The new president’s directive could prompt as many as 18 states to follow California’s lead by imposing tailpipe emissions standards that are tougher than federal requirements. Obama also directed the Department of Transportation to proceed with setting tighter fuel efficiency standards for cars beginning starting with model year 2011.
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