The Light-Truck Emission Loopholes
Current federal tailpipe standards allow sport-utility vehicles and trucks to pollute over twice as much as the average new car. In 2001, this gap has more than doubled under the National Low Emission Vehicle (NLEV) program as cars became cleaner, while the larger light trucks continued to receive special pollution exemptions.
Pollution breaks were originally granted to light trucks because they were used primarily for hauling heavy cargo, they comprised a small share of the new vehicle market, and the state of engine and catalyst technologies were not advanced enough to achieve car-equivalent emissions. However, the situation has changed dramatically on all of these points in recent years.
An Air Pollution Liability
Today most light trucks are used as basic transportation by their owners, while the largest truck categories--those most likely to be used as work vehicles--comprise only one-third of the light truck market. In fact, a study by the former American Automobile Manufacturers Association found that only 15 percent of all sport-utility vehicles are ever used for towing. Light trucks are the new passenger cars of choice, representing half of new vehicle sales.
This trend toward light trucks has resulted in significant erosion in the benefits of government efforts to reduce air pollution from motor vehicles. UCS analysis shows that the light-truck loopholes, coupled with booming sales of sport-utility vehicles, have resulted in an additional 5,000 tons per day of smog-forming pollutants in our air during the summer smog season. This is equivalent to the pollution from 40 million cars or five times the amount of cars sold in a year.
And what does the industry do about global warming?
In the case of global warming, the industry has started to work on it... after much denial. Even though many hybrid vehicles are on the way, take a look at what they had to say as early as this year.
"CO2 is a fundamental building block for life on earth. Life on earth is carbon based. Plants--the anchor of our planet's food chain--rely on carbon dioxide for life itself. CO2 is no more a pollutant than water is a poison." (2)
"First, C02 is not a pollutant. Repeat, NOT a pollutant. It is a naturally occurring part of the air we breathe--we humans exhale it and plants need it." (3)
It is true that CO2 is not a pollutant like water is not a poison. But like too much water can cause floods, too much CO2 causes global warming. It is not a question of good or bad, but a question of quantity.
Why necessary?
The reason why I called this article necessary is simple. Very few people know that some anti-pollution systems are better than others. But there is, in this case, an obvious problem. The information is very hard to find. I won't presume the reasons behind this fact, but I dare anyone to find the anti-pollution score on any particular vehicle on a manufacturer's website, in their advertisement or on the government's site.
Next week, we will see what to do with those figures and numbers... And I will add some more. Although this might seem a little tough to swallow, you'll see it's very interesting. It will help you decide what vehicle is cleaner when comes the time to shop for a new or used vehicle because, as you will find out, they were not created equal. And I will share my joyful search for information about those standards at the dealers. You'll see, it's very interesting...
Until then, I invite you to try and find the three cleanest and the three dirtiest cars in the intermediate category. I am not talking about green gas emissions but only air pollution. I will be waiting for your e-mails...
(1) taken from www.greenercars.com
(2) From the 2002 "We Decide What We Drive" anti-Pavley campaign designed by Sacramento lobbying firm Kahl/Pownall Companies for the Alliance of Automobile Manufacturers (AAM). AAM
(3) From a 2004 press release, SUV Owners of America (SUVOA), an auto industry front group run by Strat@comm, a Washington, D.C., public relations firm whose clients have included General Motors, DaimlerChrysler and Ford, as well as the auto industry's two major trade groups.
Current federal tailpipe standards allow sport-utility vehicles and trucks to pollute over twice as much as the average new car. In 2001, this gap has more than doubled under the National Low Emission Vehicle (NLEV) program as cars became cleaner, while the larger light trucks continued to receive special pollution exemptions.
Pollution breaks were originally granted to light trucks because they were used primarily for hauling heavy cargo, they comprised a small share of the new vehicle market, and the state of engine and catalyst technologies were not advanced enough to achieve car-equivalent emissions. However, the situation has changed dramatically on all of these points in recent years.
An Air Pollution Liability
Today most light trucks are used as basic transportation by their owners, while the largest truck categories--those most likely to be used as work vehicles--comprise only one-third of the light truck market. In fact, a study by the former American Automobile Manufacturers Association found that only 15 percent of all sport-utility vehicles are ever used for towing. Light trucks are the new passenger cars of choice, representing half of new vehicle sales.
This trend toward light trucks has resulted in significant erosion in the benefits of government efforts to reduce air pollution from motor vehicles. UCS analysis shows that the light-truck loopholes, coupled with booming sales of sport-utility vehicles, have resulted in an additional 5,000 tons per day of smog-forming pollutants in our air during the summer smog season. This is equivalent to the pollution from 40 million cars or five times the amount of cars sold in a year.
And what does the industry do about global warming?
In the case of global warming, the industry has started to work on it... after much denial. Even though many hybrid vehicles are on the way, take a look at what they had to say as early as this year.
"CO2 is a fundamental building block for life on earth. Life on earth is carbon based. Plants--the anchor of our planet's food chain--rely on carbon dioxide for life itself. CO2 is no more a pollutant than water is a poison." (2)
"First, C02 is not a pollutant. Repeat, NOT a pollutant. It is a naturally occurring part of the air we breathe--we humans exhale it and plants need it." (3)
It is true that CO2 is not a pollutant like water is not a poison. But like too much water can cause floods, too much CO2 causes global warming. It is not a question of good or bad, but a question of quantity.
Why necessary?
The reason why I called this article necessary is simple. Very few people know that some anti-pollution systems are better than others. But there is, in this case, an obvious problem. The information is very hard to find. I won't presume the reasons behind this fact, but I dare anyone to find the anti-pollution score on any particular vehicle on a manufacturer's website, in their advertisement or on the government's site.
Next week, we will see what to do with those figures and numbers... And I will add some more. Although this might seem a little tough to swallow, you'll see it's very interesting. It will help you decide what vehicle is cleaner when comes the time to shop for a new or used vehicle because, as you will find out, they were not created equal. And I will share my joyful search for information about those standards at the dealers. You'll see, it's very interesting...
Until then, I invite you to try and find the three cleanest and the three dirtiest cars in the intermediate category. I am not talking about green gas emissions but only air pollution. I will be waiting for your e-mails...
(1) taken from www.greenercars.com
(2) From the 2002 "We Decide What We Drive" anti-Pavley campaign designed by Sacramento lobbying firm Kahl/Pownall Companies for the Alliance of Automobile Manufacturers (AAM). AAM
(3) From a 2004 press release, SUV Owners of America (SUVOA), an auto industry front group run by Strat@comm, a Washington, D.C., public relations firm whose clients have included General Motors, DaimlerChrysler and Ford, as well as the auto industry's two major trade groups.