Environmental Leader

California Attorney General Jerry Brown along with Connecticut, New Jersey, Oregon, the Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection and New York City are teaming up to sue the EPA if the agency does not act soon to reduce pollution from ships, aircraft and off-road vehicles, AP reports.

The states involved in the lawsuit want the EPA to require cleaner fuel for airlines and ships, more fuel-efficient aircrafts, ships to travel at slower speeds and for off-road vehicles to comply with anti-idling standards. Brown said the states will sue if the EPA fails to enforce regulations within six months (180 day notice).

“Because Bush’s Environmental Protection Agency continues to wantonly ignore its duty to regulate pollution, California is forced to seek judicial action,” Brown said in a statement.

Aircrafts account for 3 percent of the country’s greenhouse gas emissions. While off-road vehicles produced about 220 million tons of carbon dioxide in 2007, roughly equivalent to 40 millions cars, according to the petition.

The lawsuit threat comes as the state is challenging the EPA in federal court over its decision last year prohibiting the state from imposing its own emission standards on vehicles. California sued the EPA in order to get a decision.

The state plans to curb its GHG emissions by 30 percent over the next 12 years. In addition, the state has issued tougher green standards for buildings, seeking to reduce energy consumption of buildings by 15 percent and to reduce water used for landscaping by 50 percent.