xcel
03-21-2009, 12:36 AM
http://www.cleanmpg.com/photos/data/2/AmericanFlag.jpg Berkeley: Hybrid capital of California. (newsroom.ucla.edu/portal/ucla/walking-the-green-talk-wealthier-85163.aspx)
http://www.cleanmpg.com/photos/data/501/2008_Toyota_Prius1.jpgPhil Hampton – UCLA (newsroom.ucla.edu) – Mar. 20, 2009
In 2007, 2.8% of Berkeley's registered vehicles were hybrids, roughly four times greater than the state average in the same year. Prius’ being the vast majority.
Analyzing greenness to improve greenness. Sounds like a good idea? -- Ed.
Residents of wealthier communities and communities that vote pro-environment positions on statewide environmental initiatives are far more likely than other California residents to own hybrid vehicles, according to new research from the UCLA Institute of the Environment.
"There is clear evidence that environmentalists are voting their pocketbook on environmental products," said Matthew E. Kahn, a UCLA professor and co-director of the institute’s Center for Corporate Environmental Performance.
While unsurprising, the results provide new measures of which communities in the state are "walking the green talk," Kahn said. He argued that such benchmarks are critical to the success of California's efforts to develop strategies to limit vehicle emissions and implement a range of policies to address global warming.
"There's a lot of talk about environmental sensitivity and going green, but what we really need is much more data to provide benchmarks and start evaluating how communities are really performing," Kahn said. "Benchmarks will spur healthy competition among communities to see which can be greenest."
Kahn — an environmental economist with appointments in both the public policy and economics departments — gathered 2007 vehicle registration data for every zip code in California. He then correlated that with 2000 data on median household incomes, as well Green Party voter registration data and how regions voted on two statewide environmental initiatives.
The results show:
1.74 percent of vehicles in San Francisco–area counties are low-emission hybrids, far higher than the statewide average of 0.77 percent. That's also far higher than equally wealthy areas of greater Los Angeles and greater San Diego.
In Los Angeles County, the five cities with the greatest percentage of hybrids among all registered vehicles were Santa Monica (3.03 percent), Malibu (3.01 percent), Manhattan Beach (2.75 percent), Commerce (2.67 percent) and Rolling Hills (2.66 percent). The countywide average was 0.77 percent.
In Orange County, the five cities with the greatest percentage of hybrids among all registered vehicles were Laguna Beach (2.33 percent), Seal Beach (1.59 percent), Newport Beach (1.56 percent), Irvine (1.27 percent) and Los Alamitos (1.25 percent). The countywide average was 0.74 percent.
The 94707 zip code near UC Berkeley had a whopping 5.24 percent hybrid vehicle share, six times larger than the 0.88 percent share for the 90024 zip code near UCLA.
The findings were published March 21 in the quarterly UCLA Institute of the Environment Southern California Environmental Report Card (ioe.ucla.edu/reportcard/). The institute's signature publication is intended to analyze data in a format useful to the general public and policymakers and to stimulate debate on policies aimed at environmental protection… http://newsroom.ucla.edu/portal/ucla/walking-the-green-talk-wealthier-85163.aspx
http://www.cleanmpg.com/photos/data/501/2008_Toyota_Prius1.jpgPhil Hampton – UCLA (newsroom.ucla.edu) – Mar. 20, 2009
In 2007, 2.8% of Berkeley's registered vehicles were hybrids, roughly four times greater than the state average in the same year. Prius’ being the vast majority.
Analyzing greenness to improve greenness. Sounds like a good idea? -- Ed.
Residents of wealthier communities and communities that vote pro-environment positions on statewide environmental initiatives are far more likely than other California residents to own hybrid vehicles, according to new research from the UCLA Institute of the Environment.
"There is clear evidence that environmentalists are voting their pocketbook on environmental products," said Matthew E. Kahn, a UCLA professor and co-director of the institute’s Center for Corporate Environmental Performance.
While unsurprising, the results provide new measures of which communities in the state are "walking the green talk," Kahn said. He argued that such benchmarks are critical to the success of California's efforts to develop strategies to limit vehicle emissions and implement a range of policies to address global warming.
"There's a lot of talk about environmental sensitivity and going green, but what we really need is much more data to provide benchmarks and start evaluating how communities are really performing," Kahn said. "Benchmarks will spur healthy competition among communities to see which can be greenest."
Kahn — an environmental economist with appointments in both the public policy and economics departments — gathered 2007 vehicle registration data for every zip code in California. He then correlated that with 2000 data on median household incomes, as well Green Party voter registration data and how regions voted on two statewide environmental initiatives.
The results show:
1.74 percent of vehicles in San Francisco–area counties are low-emission hybrids, far higher than the statewide average of 0.77 percent. That's also far higher than equally wealthy areas of greater Los Angeles and greater San Diego.
In Los Angeles County, the five cities with the greatest percentage of hybrids among all registered vehicles were Santa Monica (3.03 percent), Malibu (3.01 percent), Manhattan Beach (2.75 percent), Commerce (2.67 percent) and Rolling Hills (2.66 percent). The countywide average was 0.77 percent.
In Orange County, the five cities with the greatest percentage of hybrids among all registered vehicles were Laguna Beach (2.33 percent), Seal Beach (1.59 percent), Newport Beach (1.56 percent), Irvine (1.27 percent) and Los Alamitos (1.25 percent). The countywide average was 0.74 percent.
The 94707 zip code near UC Berkeley had a whopping 5.24 percent hybrid vehicle share, six times larger than the 0.88 percent share for the 90024 zip code near UCLA.
The findings were published March 21 in the quarterly UCLA Institute of the Environment Southern California Environmental Report Card (ioe.ucla.edu/reportcard/). The institute's signature publication is intended to analyze data in a format useful to the general public and policymakers and to stimulate debate on policies aimed at environmental protection… http://newsroom.ucla.edu/portal/ucla/walking-the-green-talk-wealthier-85163.aspx