Bill Filed To Lower Texas Auto Emissions

The state of Texas is under a federal mandate to clean up the air by 2010. Officials have pretty much admitted that Texas, the nation's leading producer of greenhouse gases, is not going to meet that deadline, and is planning to ask the EPA for an extension.

If Texas doesn't do something soon to convince the federal government that we are seriously trying to clean up the air here, we may lose federal highway funds, and could have restrictions placed on the kinds of new businesses that could move into our state.

It's obvious now that we're not going to get any help from the power plants, since they're planning to build at least 17 new coal-burning power plants. These plants will make our production of greenhouse gases even worse [although they claim to control some other pollutants better].

So it looks like the cleanup will fall to the ordinary citizen as usual. While the new power plants produce vast amounts of greenhouse gases, it looks like Texas motorists will be paying more to drive.

Senator Rodney Ellis [D-Houston] is introducing a new bill that would require 2009 model and later cars to meet more stringent emission guidelines, possibly adding hundreds of dollars to the cost of a car. The bill will require autos sold in Texas to meet the same strict emissions standards as California and 11 other states. The bill is co-sponsored by State Rep. Mark Strama [D-Austin].

Senator Ellis says the clean car program could cut greenhouse gases in Texas by 18% by 2020, and Strama adds, "We don't want to stand here 16 years from now wishing we had done this."

I am not opposed to this bill. We probably should have done it several years ago. But I am opposed to making Texas motorists responsible for all the clean-up. It's time to demand that industry do their part too. The new power plants that TXU and others want to build here in Texas should be forced to use the cleanest technology available, including the controlling of greenhouse gases.

Texas needs to clean up and stop the production of greenhouse gases. But the clean-up should be a shared burden. Motorists must do their part, but so should industry.