ACEEE's Green Book, found directly at www.greenercars.com, is a resource for the truly serious green vehicle buyer. It is not a free resource, costing $8.95 for a print edition or 30-day online access. Still, it's worth every penny. Sign up and check out model year highlights with categories such as "Greenest Vehicles of 2003" or the "Meanest Vehicles for the Environment in 2003". Another section, "Best of 2003", further lists the greenest models in each vehicle class.
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| The Honda Civic Hybrid was ranked one of the "Greenest Vehicles of 2003" in ACEEE's Green Book. (Photo: Honda) |
Tailpipe Tally (www.environmentaldefense.org/TailpipeTally) has simple, and free, interactive tools to calculate fuel consumption, fuel cost and vehicle emissions for any vehicle you choose (model year 1978 to present). You can build your own comparison list of up to four vehicles, in any combination of new and used. A neat feature of this site is how the table lists out vehicle emissions separately. Each pollutant listed also has a link to a brief explanation of its negative health and environmental effects.
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| One thing to consider though, is many of the awards don't recognize the use of green materials and processes, such as Nissan's impressive recycling effort. (Photo: Nissan) |
One drawback to these last two resources is the lack of recognition for the use of green materials and processes. Ames Awards does take into consideration recycled material content. One company being recognized for their effort in recycling is Nissan, due to an innovative program for removing parts for reuse and/or for recycling from vehicles at their end-of-life stage.
The bottom line is really quite simple: first identify and evaluate your needs and your budget. Next look for models that are being recognized and awarded by groups focused on environmentally friendly vehicles. With that information in hand, match those needs and budget to the vehicles recognized. After all, as the saying goes, knowledge is power. Each of us has the power to individually sustain our environment with the same hands that drive both a computer mouse and automobile.