xcel
09-22-2006, 08:43 PM
California announced plans to regulate the amount of greenhouse gases that cars can emit. (http://www.cumberlink.com/articles/2006/09/21/editorial/editorial/daily13.txt)
The Sentinel - Sept. 21, 2006
http://www.cleanmpg.com/photos/data/501/Yaris.jpg
Toyota Yaris gets 40 mpg highway mileage and gives off 5 tons per year of GHG’s per the EPA.
Soon we will find out whether new cars in Pennsylvania will have to conform to California emissions laws starting in 2008.
The state Environmental Quality Board voted 16-2 this week to adopt stricter air-pollution standards. If the Independent Regulatory Review Commission goes along, new cars in the commonwealth will have to conform to the slightly stricter rules of the California Air Resources Board.
The first couple of years of these new standards will probably go unnoticed. Many new cars sold in this state already conform to CARB standards, and only a few new cars fall short of those rules. Some cars may need additional equipment to meet California standards, but the cost so far has been nominal, around $100 to $250 or so.
However, California has announced plans to regulate the amount of greenhouse gases that cars can emit, and several auto manufacturers have sued the state to keep them from doing so. Some say car buyers in CARB states will not be able to buy larger cars or trucks if that happens.
The Environmental Protection Agency, through its www.fueleconomy.gov Web site, tells every new car’s miles-per-gallon rating, and it also tells the quantity of greenhouse gases released in tons per year. A quick look at the data tells an interesting story - the higher the miles per gallon, the lower the amount of greenhouse gases that escape through the exhaust pipe.
For example, the subcompact Toyota Yaris gets 40 mpg highway mileage and gives off 5 tons per year of greenhouse gases, according to the EPA. Toyota’s Land Cruiser SUV gets 17 mpg highway and emits 12.5 tons of greenhouse gases.
So does this mean California standards will allow only smaller and lower-powered cars to be sold in Pennsylvania? Not necessarily. A flex-fuel Chevy Impala, when run on gasoline, gets 31 mpg highway and emits 7.5 tons of greenhouse gases. Running on 85 percent ethanol, the mileage drops to 23 mpg highway - but so do greenhouse gases, to 6 tons a year.
Hybrid and diesel power also allow larger vehicles to reduce their greenhouse gas profiles.
We recall that the identical arguments were made against vehicle emission standards 40 years ago and the CAFE fuel economy standards of the 1980s. There was a bit of upheaval at first, but the variety of cars we can buy today is better than ever. Given a goal, we think auto manufacturers will rise to the occasion with improved technology.
And that’s a good thing for our environment.
The Sentinel - Sept. 21, 2006
http://www.cleanmpg.com/photos/data/501/Yaris.jpg
Toyota Yaris gets 40 mpg highway mileage and gives off 5 tons per year of GHG’s per the EPA.
Soon we will find out whether new cars in Pennsylvania will have to conform to California emissions laws starting in 2008.
The state Environmental Quality Board voted 16-2 this week to adopt stricter air-pollution standards. If the Independent Regulatory Review Commission goes along, new cars in the commonwealth will have to conform to the slightly stricter rules of the California Air Resources Board.
The first couple of years of these new standards will probably go unnoticed. Many new cars sold in this state already conform to CARB standards, and only a few new cars fall short of those rules. Some cars may need additional equipment to meet California standards, but the cost so far has been nominal, around $100 to $250 or so.
However, California has announced plans to regulate the amount of greenhouse gases that cars can emit, and several auto manufacturers have sued the state to keep them from doing so. Some say car buyers in CARB states will not be able to buy larger cars or trucks if that happens.
The Environmental Protection Agency, through its www.fueleconomy.gov Web site, tells every new car’s miles-per-gallon rating, and it also tells the quantity of greenhouse gases released in tons per year. A quick look at the data tells an interesting story - the higher the miles per gallon, the lower the amount of greenhouse gases that escape through the exhaust pipe.
For example, the subcompact Toyota Yaris gets 40 mpg highway mileage and gives off 5 tons per year of greenhouse gases, according to the EPA. Toyota’s Land Cruiser SUV gets 17 mpg highway and emits 12.5 tons of greenhouse gases.
So does this mean California standards will allow only smaller and lower-powered cars to be sold in Pennsylvania? Not necessarily. A flex-fuel Chevy Impala, when run on gasoline, gets 31 mpg highway and emits 7.5 tons of greenhouse gases. Running on 85 percent ethanol, the mileage drops to 23 mpg highway - but so do greenhouse gases, to 6 tons a year.
Hybrid and diesel power also allow larger vehicles to reduce their greenhouse gas profiles.
We recall that the identical arguments were made against vehicle emission standards 40 years ago and the CAFE fuel economy standards of the 1980s. There was a bit of upheaval at first, but the variety of cars we can buy today is better than ever. Given a goal, we think auto manufacturers will rise to the occasion with improved technology.
And that’s a good thing for our environment.