California is the world’s fifth-largest economy. It’s the cradle of Big Tech, the birthplace of Tesla and a global trendsetter in environmental and public health policy. For decades, it has championed ambitious clean air rules, projecting its influence not only to other U.S. states but also to the rest of the world. But Congress just took a sledgehammer to that legacy this week, revoking a decades-old waiver that let California write its own emissions rules which allowed it to create healthier, more breathable cities.
