On Friday, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency formally slapped down efforts by California, Maine and about a dozen other states to set greenhouse gas-emissions standards for cars and trucks.

The decision posted Friday in the Federal Register was expected and is already being challenged in court by Maine, the other states and conservation groups.

Now here’s another viewpoint on the emissions battle you might not have considered. Maybe Maine and the other states should worry more about what we’re eating than what we’re driving.

That’s the argument of the People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals, or PETA, which recently made its case in a letter to Gov. John Baldacci. Meat production and consumption worldwide, not personal transportation, is the leading cause of global warming, according to PETA.

PETA may not qualify as an expert on global warming, but it’s not the only one saying so.

The group cites a United Nations report that raising animals for food generates almost 50 percent more greenhouse gases than all the cars, SUVs, trucks, and airplanes in the world combined, it says. A
study by the University of Chicago also reported that eating less meat is an effective way to counter global warming.

It’s all well and good that Maine is fighting for tighter pollution limits on cars and trucks, according to PETA. The letter just asks for a little equal time for vegans and calls for the state should launch a vegetarian initiative because “there’s no such thing as a meat-eating environmentalist.”

Baldacci did not immediately swear off meat upon being shown the letter, however. The governor said he’d rather take that kind of advice from his wife, a registered dietician, according to spokesman David Farmer.

“She tells him, ‘Everything in moderation; nothing in excess,’ ” Farmer said.

That apparently goes for meat as well as gasoline.

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