[Mb-civic] 'Blue' States Tackling Energy On Their Own - Washington Post

[William Swiggard]

'Blue' States Tackling Energy On Their Own
Federal Efficiency Rules Fall Short, Some Say

By Justin Blum
Washington Post Staff Writer
Sunday, January 22, 2006; A01

Democratic-leaning states increasingly are regulating energy use and 
emissions, working around a GOP-controlled federal government that state 
officials say has not done enough.

The states are creating energy efficiency requirements for light bulbs 
and household appliances, limiting power plant and automobile output 
linked to global warming, and requiring the use of renewable energy, 
such as wind and solar.

Leading the effort are "blue" states that voted Democratic in the 2004 
presidential election. Even some of those states that have Republican 
governors, such as California and Connecticut, are making their own rules.

"In a way, the left is controlling that agenda," said Amy Myers Jaffe, 
associate director of the energy program at Rice University in Houston. 
"They're just implementing it at the community and state level."

Jaffe and other analysts said some of the policies would have to be 
adopted nationally to have a significant impact on the environment and 
energy consumption. But with other policies, such as the auto emissions 
limits, they said a sufficient number of big states are adopting 
regulations to make a significant difference nationally. "If all these 
giant-population states do this, does it matter that we don't have a 
national policy?" Jaffe asked.

Seven states that voted Democratic in 2004's presidential election have 
signed on to a regional plan to restrict power plant emissions. Eleven 
states that went Democratic have adopted, or are in the process of 
adopting, automobile tailpipe emissions requirements, which face a court 
challenge before they can be implemented. Nine of the 10 states that 
have adopted appliance efficiency regulations also voted Democratic.

Requirements that a portion of electricity come from renewable sources 
have caught on beyond the Democratic-leaning states. Seven states that 
went Republican in 2004 have joined 13 Democratic-leaning states and the 
District of Columbia in setting those rules.

Though the new regulations are not necessarily partisan, the activists 
behind them say their adoption requires lawmakers and constituents who 
are concerned about global warming and energy-conservation -- issues 
that Democrats often emphasize.

The Bush administration welcomes state efforts "as long as they do not 
put Americans out of jobs or move emissions from one state to another or 
one country to another," said Michele St. Martin, a spokeswoman for the 
White House Council on Environmental Quality.

State officials say their constituents are demanding new limits on 
pollution and energy consumption. "What is frustrating is that these 
things aren't being done on a national basis," said Maine Gov. John E. 
Baldacci (D).

In some cases, states complain that the federal government has failed to 
take steps required by law.

The Energy Department has not decided if it should implement some new 
rules for appliance energy efficiency or update some old ones, for 
example, even though legal deadlines have passed for numerous 
appliances, such as home furnaces and boilers. The department says it is 
working on improving its performance.

Some Republican lawmakers in Washington defended their record on energy 
matters, noting that they approved an energy bill last year designed to 
increase energy supplies and promote cleaner energy sources. Lawmakers 
said they support allowing states to chart their own course, though they 
may disagree with some of the measures.

"Unless we get involved in a situation . . . where we make it almost 
impossible for there to be an automobile market in the United States, I 
don't see anything wrong with the states being involved," said Sen. Pete 
V. Domenici (R-N.M.), chairman of the Energy and Natural Resources 
Committee.

States are having an impact in a number of ways.

Aggressive action at the state level has forced manufacturers to agree 
to some national efficiency requirements for appliances. After several 
states moved to regulate ceiling fans, for instance, manufacturers 
agreed to national standards to avoid the expense and hassle of 
customizing products for individual states.

But there are still a number of state appliance restrictions for which 
there are no federal rules, creating costly complications for 
manufacturers. The 10 states that have passed their own energy 
efficiency standards do not always agree on which appliances should be 
covered or what the standards should be.

California is the only state with separate standards for hot tubs and 
pool pumps. Only Massachusetts has rules for residential furnaces, 
boilers and the fans inside. California has standards for televisions, 
DVD players and recorders, and New York has taken initial steps toward 
making its own rules for the same products.

The state-by-state standards are "absolutely a nightmare for our 
members," said Keith McCoy, the National Association of Manufacturers' 
vice president of resources and environmental policy in Washington. 
"They create a patchwork of regulatory compliance issues."

Industry has supported some state measures that require energy 
generation by renewable sources. Even politically conservative states 
such as Texas have signed on, at least partially because supporters 
think the new rules could have a positive impact on the environment 
without creating a negative one on the economy.

With the regional power plant emissions plan, seven Northeastern states 
have agreed to reduce carbon dioxide emissions. Environmentalists had 
lobbied heavily for the measure as a way to limit the release of gasses 
linked to global warming.

The electric industry opposes the power plant restrictions, saying the 
result could be a loss of manufacturing jobs to countries where the cost 
of producing electricity is lower. The industry argues that states 
acting alone cannot have a significant impact on worldwide greenhouse 
gas emissions.

"There's not really anything that can be done locally or at a state 
level or local level to put a significant dent in greenhouse gasses," 
said Bill Fang, the climate issue director for the Edison Electric 
Institute, an industry group in Washington.

Another group of states has targeted automobiles, a major source of 
greenhouse gas emissions. The rules limiting the amount of carbon 
dioxide and other gasses that can come out of tailpipes would go beyond 
federal regulations already in place.

Automakers, which are suing to have the rules overturned, say the 
restrictions would push up prices and reduce sales.

But local officials -- tired of waiting on the federal government to 
beef up its own pollution-control rules -- say they have acted prudently 
in attempting to take charge of what comes out of the tailpipes and 
smokestacks in their states.

"The federal standards are simply not good enough," said Gina McCarthy, 
commissioner of Connecticut's Department of Environmental Protection. 
"If we can't get the federal government to act, then we have to take 
action in any way we can."

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2006/01/21/AR2006012101067.html
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