GEORGE A. GONZALEZ - fieldi

SIXDemocratic Ethics,Environmental Groups,and Symbolic InclusionTHE STATE OF CALIFORNIA is the nation’s leader in the formulation andimplementation of automobile emission standards. Its automobile emissionstandards are the toughest in the United States. These standards were mostrecently tightened in 1998. Additionally, as I explained in chapter 1, California’sstandards have been the driving force behind the nation’s automobileemission standards. Specifically, the strengthening of California’s emissionstandards in 1990, in conjunction with the actions of other states, promptedthe federal government to raise its automobile emission standards with the1990 Clean Air Act. Similarly, events at the state level, led by California,prompted the federal government in 1999 to announce a tightening in emissionstandards (Cone 1998; Perez-Pena 1999).Despite California’s well-developed regulatory framework and its politicalleadership on the issue of automobile emission standards, air pollutionfrom automobiles continues to be a persistent and serious problem in thestate. While carbon monoxide and nitrogen oxide emissions in California aredown when compared to 1990 levels, these pollutants continue to be emittedin large and hazardous amounts into the state’s air. Additionally, the amountof particular matter in California’s air remain at roughly 1990 levels. Moreover,particulate matter is predicted to increase in the near future. The automobile(including buses and trucks) accounts for at least 80 percent of allthese pollutants in California’s air. Further, automobiles are the primarysource of such airborne toxins as acetaldehyde, benzene, 1,3–butadiene,formaldehyde, and diesel particulate matter (known to be a carcinogen)(California Air Resources Board 2004). Largely as a result of automobile89