North American Free Breathing
NAFTA means smog for Californians, write Jody Freeman and Kal Raustiala, in the LA Times:
The U.S. Supreme Court's ruling last week allowing Mexican trucks into the United States has inflamed environmental groups. The diesel exhaust from these trucks is a major public health threat, and many of them will have difficulty meeting U.S. safety requirements.But the case is not notable simply because the court once again ruled against environmental interests. The case is also significant as the most recent and vivid example of national policies ó on trade, homeland security, immigration and drug policy ó that burden California disproportionately even as they benefit the nation as a whole.
The North American Free Trade Agreement, for instance, which requires that the U.S. allow the Mexican trucks to operate here, may on balance be good for the U.S., but it is not good for California's air quality. The same is true of homeland security requirements that, though necessary, impose huge costs on states like California, with major ports, borders and cities to keep safe. It's also true of national drug policies, which have stemmed trafficking in Florida, only to shift it to California.
Despite these unequal burdens, California often receives fewer per capita federal dollars than less-burdened states. California's Sen. Dianne Feinstein noted, for example, that the state, with its "target-rich" environment, receives only $1.33 per capita for homeland security, but Wyoming, with no high-profile targets, gets $9.78 per capita.
If we, in California, are going to have to suck all the black smoke from Mexican trucks, maybe the other states should at least have to pay us some pollution credits. That said, I still don't understand how North American Free Trade means North American free to ignore our state laws against pollution. If you drive a car that's pumping out a lot of smelly smog, the police can pull you over and cite you. Why doesn't the same go for a truck of watermelons coming across our border?
I have a bone to pick with you. What you hear and see on the news is sometimes biased. Go to the source. It happens that all trucks entering the US from Mexico are inspected to make sure they fill US standards. Check it out.
Remember the strawberry scare? Stawberries from Mexico? It turned out to be a lie made up by american strawberry growers. Remember the little onions in salsa in New York causing hepatitis?
Also ultimately not attributed to Mexico. Poor little Mexico, they want to blame them for everything.
The tuna ban, the avocado ban, it goes without end. They haven't banned mangoes from Mexico because mangoes only grow in Hawaii and are very expensive.
I am asking you to check out what is behind the story before you take it at face value. Many stories are half-truths or out and out lies. Why don't you try watching other country's news to get a more balanced view on things? There is propaganda in the US, Plenty!!!!
Just look at all the lies going on in Iraq right now!!!
Signed,
Member of the human race
a Member of the human race
Patricia at June 16, 2004 7:55 PM
What's your source, Patricia?
Here's one (http://www.dailystar.com/dailystar/dailystar/25393.php) that says they don't have to meet Arizona's standards, quoting a guy who would know, huh?
"There is no game plan" to make sure that 18-wheelers from Mexico meet U.S. air-pollution standards when they begin rolling into Arizona, the director of the state's Department of Environmental Quality, Steve Owens, said Tuesday.
Here's more:
http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi%3Ffile%3D/c/a/2004/06/08/MNG7D72K131.DTL
PS I try to avoid eating food from Mexico, and try to eat locally grown organic California produce.
Amy Alkon at June 16, 2004 8:07 PM
California may suffer disproportionately from unregulated Mexican pollution, but it benefits disproportionaly from unregulated Mexican labor.
Crid at June 17, 2004 9:34 PM
To answer your question, Article Six of the U.S. Constitution states "... all treaties made, or which shall be made, under the authority of the United States, shall be the supreme law of the land." Furthermore, there are lots of precedents where U.S. treaties trump the laws of a single state. This was a slam-dunk decision for the Supreme Court.
As for why California gets screwed when it comes to the re-distribution of federal tax dollars, it's basically because there are A LOT more senators from rural states than there are Senators from urban states such as California. Rural states, such as Alaska (whose senior senator, Ted Stevens, chairs the Senate Appropriations Committee), tend to get more pork per capita than more urban states.
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