14 DAY TRIAL // According to sources close to the US President, Barack Obama will announce today a new set of limits concerning vehicle greenhouse gas emissions, as well as new carbon limits for America, in a move that is without precedent in the history of the country. The new limitations will be applied nationwide, at a federal level, and will supersede in priority all state laws. They will also affect all major automakers in the country, which will have to abide by the Congress-sanctioned legislative initiative.
According to a source that asked to remain anonymous until the announcement was officially made public, the Congress did not agree on imposing the 35.5 miles per gallon limitation on the automakers starting 2016, as Obama proposed, but that it consented to making this an obligation starting 2020. The plan, some say, is a very important step forward, and environmental organizations worldwide applaud the US president for sticking to the promises he made in the electoral campaign.
It's possible, commentators tell, that the bills were inspired from California's example, which had only recently approved a new set of laws stating that its levels of emitted greenhouse gases needed to be reduced by more than 30 percent by 2016. This was a big commitment on the part of the state, but, as lawmakers pointed out, it might need to get its waiver before the measures went into full effect. Already, the measure is unpopular among oil companies, and especially with the Canadian ones, which stated that it was discriminatory as to their products, and did not comply with the World Trade Organization charter.
The problem is fairly complex, because the case that the Canadians are making stands to objections, up to a certain point. That is to say, their oil is, indeed, discriminated against, but on the grounds that its extraction process severely affected the surrounding landscape. If the oil came from a cleaner source, then there would be no problem for it to penetrate Californian markets. It remains to be seen how the situation will unfurl at the next WTO meeting.
White House spokesman Robert Gibbs said yesterday that today, we might even witness the oil and automotive companies dropping their lawsuits against the state of California for its unpopular, but necessary measures. The official announced that the press would maybe see an agreement between all parties involved, and that opponents and critics of Obama's plan alike would come together for the goof of the country.