Free Republic

A federal judge on Wednesday refused to throw out a lawsuit by automakers aimed at blocking states from regulating emissions of the greenhouse gas carbon dioxide. The decision by District Court Judge William Sessions III came two days after the U.S. Supreme Court ruled that automobile emissions are subject to regulation by the federal Environmental Protection Agency. Sessions' ruling clears the way for a trial scheduled to begin Monday over rules drafted by California and being followed by Vermont and nine other states. Under those rules, states would regulate carbon emissions. The federal Clean Air Act allows California to set...

The six largest automakers are asking a federal judge to toss out a lawsuit by California that accuses them of harming human health and the environment by producing vehicles that contribute to global warming. The American and Japanese auto companies filed a motion in U.S. District Court in Oakland on Friday to dismiss the complaint filed in September by Attorney General Bill Lockyer. An attorney for the carmakers said Saturday that state officials who want to reduce auto emissions should do it through regulation not litigation. "It's the classic kind of case that the Supreme Court has said doesn't belong...