Zoiks!!!!

WASHINGTON: President Barack Obama planned to direct federal regulators Monday to move swiftly on an application by California and 13 other states to set strict automobile emission and fuel efficiency standards, two administration officials said.

The directive makes good on an Obama campaign pledge and signifies a sharp reversal of Bush administration policy. Granting California and the other states the right to regulate tailpipe emissions would be one of the most emphatic actions Obama could take to quickly put his stamp on environmental policy. Obama stops short of ordering the agencies to reverse the Bush administration policy, but they are widely expected to do so.

Once they act, automobile manufacturers will quickly have to retool to begin producing and selling cars and trucks that get higher mileage than the national standard, and on a faster phase-in schedule. The auto companies have lobbied hard against the regulations and challenged them in court.

Someone is not paying attention to the constituency. The Pew Research Center places "Global Warming" at #20 on the list of priorities for the "Great Unwashed" (see graph above). The Obama Administration has placed it much higher in reflection of his deeds above outlined.

The percentage of Americans who think global warming is just another planetary trend has increased, though Democrats and more likely than Republicans to blame human activity for environmental change a new Rasmussen Reports national telephone survey finds.

Forty-four percent of voters polled said global warming is the result of long-term planetary trends, according to the survey. In 2006, 35 percent agreed.

The percentage of voters who blame global warming on human activity fell to 41 percent from 46 percent. Seven percent blame other reasons and 9 percent were unsure, the survey found.

Someone forgot to stick their finger up in the air to see which way the climate was blowing...