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Electric bus
Removing roadblocks to progress

Today the U.S. Senate voted to roll back California’s legal right to set air pollution standards for cars.

This is yet another attack by this federal administration on our states’ authority to protect people’s air and lungs from polluting vehicles on our roads.

There are no winners here except Big Oil’s profits: we will breathe more unhealthy air, we will see more climate disasters, and we will fall behind in the transition to cleaner transportation. It comes at a time while the U.S. House of Representatives is also considering massive budget cuts that would gut the Inflation Reduction Act. It’s tough news. We are calling on our elected leaders to hold the line.

Also in case you missed it (in the ongoing rush of difficult news), several weeks ago the Trump administration illegally withheld millions of dollars allocated to states’ clean energy projects, including building out infrastructure for electric vehicles. Today we joined a lawsuit to defend against that rollback.

Both of these actions have significant impacts on everybody in Washington and Oregon, and beyond. Our clean energy laws and funding are key pieces in the puzzle of how we get beyond fossil fuels for fueling transportation. These attempted rollbacks are desperate and illegal political stunts.

Meanwhile, Washington Governor Bob Ferguson last weekend signed a new law upgrading the state’s clean fuel standard! And the Oregon Legislature has one month left in session, where they are hoping to pass a transportation package.

Check out this joint news release on our lawsuit filing, led by Earthjustice, to learn more and stay engaged.

Together we won’t back down.

Author Bio

Gregg Small

Executive Director, Climate Solutions

Gregg brings more than 30 years of experience working on climate, environmental, and public policy issues, including more than 25 as an Executive Director. At Climate Solutions, Gregg oversees a staff of more than three dozen policy experts, campaigners, innovators, and researchers across Washington and Oregon, providing strategic direction for one of the most effective regional climate and clean economy organizations in the nation. Under his leadership, Climate Solutions and our many allies have successfully passed some of the best climate policies in the United States.

Prior to coming to Climate Solutions, Gregg served as the Executive Director of Toxic-Free Future for 7 years and as the Executive Director of the California-based Pesticide Watch for 5 years. During that time, he played a leadership role in creating and developing a number of leading coalitions working on environmental health issues in Washington state and nationally. At Climate Solutions, he helped to found the Washington-based Alliance for Jobs and Clean Energy and Renew Oregon, and has served on the executive committee of multiple statewide climate change ballot measure campaigns including Yes on I-1631 in 2018 and No on I-2117 in 2024.

Gregg began his professional career in 1993 as an organizer for Green Corps, working in Washington, DC, Vermont, and California. He received his B.A. in Political Science from Dickinson College.

When not at work, Gregg spends time with his family and raising awareness about Cystic Fibrosis, a genetic disease that his son Jude has and that he is passionate about finding a cure for.

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