John Warner did right on environment

On May 21, the Senate Environment and Public Works Committee approved the Global Warming Pollution Act of 2008 by a vote of 10-9. The measure was largely a partisan vote with the exception of the strong leadership shown by Virginia’s John Warner. Sen. Warner broke with fellow Republicans and voted for this bill, which defends a state’s right to adopt stricter global warming emissions standards for vehicles.

Sen. Warner’s leadership on this issue deserves tremendous credit. America needs every tool at its disposal in the fight against global warming, and state emissions standards are a vital means of combating this problem.

This bill would reject the terrible decision by the Bush administration to deny a waiver for California to adopt greenhouse gas emission standards for cars. It would permit California and 13 other states, including our neighbor Maryland, to move forward with legislation that will limit global warming pollution from cars.

These clean car standards will reduce cumulative greenhouse gas pollution 40 percent more than the new national fuel economy standards through 2020. By moving beyond partisan politics and focusing on real solutions, Sen. Warner is leading the way in enacting effective policies that will help to curb America’s contribution to global warming.

J.R. Tolbert
Charlottesville