Now in her seventh term, Rep. Jane Harman (D-Venice) represents California’s 36th Congressional District.
Jane Harman.Even sunny skies and pleasant ocean breezes over much of our state can’t mask the fact that Californians breathe some of the most polluted air in the nation. California is the world’s 12th largest source of carbon dioxide, the chief heat-trapping gas that causes global warming. As dirty as our air is, we are taking the lead nationally in trying to make the air cleaner and our actions greener. Last year, Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger signed into law ambitious legislation establishing the goal of reducing dangerous emissions to 1990 levels by 2020.
And yet many in Washington, D.C., are unhappy with California’s efforts and are working to undermine and override state laws and regulations designed to reduce greenhouse-gas emissions and promote cleaner fuels.
Several weeks ago, emails from the U.S. Department of Transportation suggested senior-level administrators, and possibly the secretary of transportation herself, have been lobbying on behalf of automobile interests to persuade the EPA not to ... Read more
