California Cars

*TC Cleaning Maryland's polluted environment ought to be one of the General Assembly's top priorities as it heads into its final three weeks of activity this session. When the House of Delegates once again takes up a bill today to impose tougher tailpipe emissions standards for 1998 model year cars and trucks, legislators should not hesitate to approve the measure. It is a sensible environmental move and one that makes enormous economic sense, too.Without "California cars" bill -- so named because it would apply California's low-emission vehicle standards to cars sold in Maryland -- this state's environmental officials might not be able to meet federal anti-smog mandates.

WASHINGTON -- The contentious effort to require ultra-clean and even electric cars in Maryland and other smoggy East Coast states received a boost yesterday.A multistate commission asked the federal government to require California-style emission controls on all new cars and light trucks sold from Maine to Northern Virginia by fall 1998.Over objections from four states, officials from Maryland and eight other states on the Ozone Transport Commission voted to petition the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency to replace federal motor vehicle pollution standards with California's more stringent limits.

The debate on "California cars" and cleaner air in Maryland returns to the fast lane this week with the release of a study by a Johns Hopkins University professor.At the center of the long-running controversy is this question: Should smoggy East Coast states adopt the same strict limits on auto emissions that exist in California?The auto industry says no, and it wants Maryland and other states to accept slightly "dirtier" but less expensive vehicles than in California.Some environmentalists, however, say the industry proposal is an Edsel.

Maryland's plan to adopt California's strict auto emissions standards is unlikely to curb smog in the Baltimore and Washington areas as much or as quickly as predicted, says a study released yesterday by a Johns Hopkins University pollution expert.Dr. Hugh Ellis, a professor of environmental engineering at Hopkins, concludes there may be cheaper and more reliable ways to reduce ozone pollution in the state than with so-called "California cars."Dr. Ellis' study puts a dent in a proposal by Maryland and some other states that low-emission vehicles, including some powered by batteries, be sold from Maine to Virginia beginning in 1997.

ANNAPOLIS -- Fresh from a victory in Virginia, auto and oil industry officials urged a House committee yesterday to kill a Schaefer administration bill that would require all new cars sold in Maryland to meet California's stringent tailpipe emission standards.But state officials, environmentalists and chemical manufacturers argued that Maryland needs the clean-car measure to deal with stubborn air pollution problems in the Baltimore and Washington areas.In a lengthy House Environmental Matters hearing peppered with slide presentations, bar charts and technical jargon, the two sides tangled over the benefits and costs of requiring "California cars" in Maryland.

Fighting smog by requiring low-emission vehicles in Maryland would save the economically beleaguered state more than 60,000 jobs a year, says a report released yesterday by supporters of the pollution-control proposal.The report was released a few days before a critical legislative hearing on a Schaefer administration bill that would mandate so-called "California cars," which burn fuel more cleanly.The report seeks to counter criticism from the auto and oil industries, which helped sink a similar measure last year.

WASHINGTON -- The contentious effort to require ultra-clean and even electric cars in Maryland and other smoggy East Coast states received a boost yesterday.A multistate commission asked the federal government to require California-style emission controls on all new cars and light trucks sold from Maine to Northern Virginia by fall 1998.Over objections from four states, officials from Maryland and eight other states on the Ozone Transport Commission voted to petition the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency to replace federal motor vehicle pollution standards with California's more stringent limits.

Facing an uphill struggle to get "California cars" in Maryland despite a new state law, the Schaefer administration is seeking a federal ruling that would require sale of the low-emission autos and light trucks in every state from Maine to Virginia.The administration last month joined officials from Massachusetts and Maine in asking a regional pollution-control commission to consider action that would, in effect, force all 12 states and the District of Columbia to adopt California's stringent auto emission limits.

Legislation to reduce smog in Maryland by requiring the sale of low-emission cars gained a key victory yesterday -- but the bill stipulates that neighboring states must lead the motorcade.The state Senate Judicial Proceedings Committee by a 9-2 vote approved a measure that would adopt California's stringent emissions standards.The legislation is designed to make sure Maryland complies with the federal Clean Air Act.Similar legislation has died in the Senate the past two years.But committee members attached a number of strings to the so-called "California cars" bill that would call upon other states to first adopt such a measure.

"California cars" are coming to Maryland. Or are they?In the name of cleaner air, Marylanders shopping for new cars or light trucks would find only specially equipped, low-emission models on the market as early as 1997 under legislation given final approval by the state House of Delegates yesterday.But the measure, which passed the House 123-to-2, has had so many conditions added to it at the behest of the auto and oil industries that some environmentalists fear the law might never take effect.

The debate on "California cars" and cleaner air in Maryland returns to the fast lane this week with the release of a study by a Johns Hopkins University professor.At the center of the long-running controversy is this question: Should smoggy East Coast states adopt the same strict limits on auto emissions that exist in California?The auto industry says no, and it wants Maryland and other states to accept slightly "dirtier" but less expensive vehicles than in California.Some environmentalists, however, say the industry proposal is an Edsel.

Facing an uphill struggle to get "California cars" in Maryland despite a new state law, the Schaefer administration is seeking a federal ruling that would require sale of the low-emission autos and light trucks in every state from Maine to Virginia.The administration last month joined officials from Massachusetts and Maine in asking a regional pollution-control commission to consider action that would, in effect, force all 12 states and the District of Columbia to adopt California's stringent auto emission limits.

HERE'S the view from our neighbors in Delaware, courtesy of the Wilmington News Journal's editorial page:"The Maryland General Assembly, after three years of battling auto manufacturers and environmentalists . . . passed a compromise version of the 'California cars' emission standard. "Both sides claimed a degree of victory with the new legislation, which Gov. Schaefer said he will sign, but the significance of this bill cannot be underestimated."California cars have long been leaders in cutting back on the various tailpipe pollutants.

"California cars" are coming to Maryland. Or are they?In the name of cleaner air, Marylanders shopping for new cars or light trucks would find only specially equipped, low-emission models on the market as early as 1997 under legislation given final approval by the state House of Delegates yesterday.But the measure, which passed the House 123-to-2, has had so many conditions added to it at the behest of the auto and oil industries that some environmentalists fear the law might never take effect.

"California cars" are coming to Maryland. Or are they?In the name of cleaner air, Marylanders shopping for new cars or light trucks could be required to buy specially equipped, low-emission models as early as 1997 under legislation given final approval by the state House of Delegates yesterday.But the measure, which passed the House 123-to-2, has had so many conditions added to it at the behest of the auto and oil industries that some environmentalists fear the law might never take effect.

Conversion ProphetFor all the 16 years he was in the U.S. House of Representatives, Parren J. Mitchell advised and exhorted our Washington legislators in Congress to begin to plan for conversion of war industries into peace industries.If his creative plans had been followed, our country would not now be in a panic over the closing of war industries and bases.It seems to us that one of the best things President Clinton could do would be to utilize the ideas and services of Mr. Mitchell to help us over this critical time.

"California cars" are coming to Maryland. Or are they?In the name of cleaner air, Marylanders shopping for new cars or light trucks could be required to buy specially equipped, low-emission models as early as 1997 under legislation given final approval by the state House of Delegates yesterday.But the measure, which passed the House 123-to-2, has had so many conditions added to it at the behest of the auto and oil industries that some environmentalists fear the law might never take effect.

HERE'S the view from our neighbors in Delaware, courtesy of the Wilmington News Journal's editorial page:"The Maryland General Assembly, after three years of battling auto manufacturers and environmentalists . . . passed a compromise version of the 'California cars' emission standard. "Both sides claimed a degree of victory with the new legislation, which Gov. Schaefer said he will sign, but the significance of this bill cannot be underestimated."California cars have long been leaders in cutting back on the various tailpipe pollutants.

Legislation to reduce smog in Maryland by requiring the sale of low-emission cars gained a key victory yesterday -- but the bill stipulates that neighboring states must lead the motorcade.The state Senate Judicial Proceedings Committee by a 9-2 vote approved a measure that would adopt California's stringent emissions standards.The legislation is designed to make sure Maryland complies with the federal Clean Air Act.Similar legislation has died in the Senate the past two years.But committee members attached a number of strings to the so-called "California cars" bill that would call upon other states to first adopt such a measure.

Fighting smog by requiring low-emission vehicles in Maryland would save the economically beleaguered state more than 60,000 jobs a year, says a report released yesterday by supporters of the pollution-control proposal.The report was released a few days before a critical legislative hearing on a Schaefer administration bill that would mandate so-called "California cars," which burn fuel more cleanly.The report seeks to counter criticism from the auto and oil industries, which helped sink a similar measure last year.