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Opinion: California sticks green thumb in White House’s eye

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California is finally suing the federal government. That’s only slightly less awesome than Nebraska State Sen. Ernie Chambers suing God to put a stop to ‘terroristic threats of grave harm to innumerable persons.’ (He later named former Husker coach Tom Osborne as the defendant.)

At issue are the state’s more stringent emissions standards. Back in 2002 Gov. Gray Davis signed a law designed to cut the state’s emissions by a quarter by 2020. The one big kink in this plan? The federal Environmental Protection Agency has to sign a waiver allowing the Golden State to regulate itself. The EPA resisted, saying states don’t have the authority to regulate greenhouse gases, but this April the Supreme Court nixed that argument. Nearly half a year later, though, the EPA still hasn’t issued a decision. Sierra Club Executive Director Carl Pope snipes, ‘[I]f the Bush administration isn’t going to take decisive action itself, the least they can do is step out of the way.’

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This suit has been a long time coming. (‘Bring it on,’ the San Jose Mercury News cheered recently.) And if you think this is just another crazy California stunt, think again: According to the governor’s office, 14 other states are slated to join the suit today. Just one more reason why the Golden State rocks.

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