PORTLAND PRESS HERALD • August 12, 2023
Our state has an opportunity to address the biggest source of climate-damaging pollution: gas-guzzling cars and trucks. It is imperative that Maine adopt the rule known as the Advanced Clean Cars II this year if we are to hit our climate targets. However, the rule currently pending before the state Board of Environmental Protection deviates from all other versions adopted throughout the country: It stops in 2032, when only 80% of new vehicles sold would be required to be electric. Maine should adopt the full Advanced Clean Cars II rule, which would require that all new cars sold in the state be clean by 2035. ~ Ruth Hennig, board vice chair of Defend Our Health, and a member of Conservation Law Foundation’s Maine State Advisory Board, Portland