AGENDA #3a(3)
Support the Clean Cars Plan for North Carolina
Part or all of 32 North Carolina counties are currently out of attainment with federal air quality standards. With negligible costs to consumers, the Clean Cars plan would require new cars sold in the state to be dramatically cleaner, reducing smog pollution and helping many areas reach attainment with federal air quality standards.
North Carolina already leads the Southeast in cleaning up power plants, thanks to the NC General Assembly’s Clean Smokestacks legislation. Reducing automobile pollution is the next key step to clean, healthy air.
Air Pollution From Cars Threatens Health
Ø Asthma among children increased 74% between 1980 and 1994 in N.C.[i] Numerous recent scientific studies have linked smog, or ozone pollution to the disease. Today, 170,000 children, one in ten, suffer from asthma.[ii]
Ø More than 4 million North Carolinians often experience unsafe levels of ozone during the summer months.[iii] The pollutant triggers as many 240,000 asthma attacks each summer.[iv]
Ø Levels of at least one carcinogen exceed U.S. EPA’s cancer-risk benchmark in 96 counties in North Carolina.[v]
Ø Automobiles contribute to at least 37% of the state’s ozone pollution, and 40% of the state’s air toxic pollution.[vi] Automobile contribution to ozone in some areas like Charlotte is as much as 90%.[vii]
Air Pollution from Cars Hinders Economic Development
Ø Part or all of 32 counties in N.C. are not in attainment with federal air quality standards.[viii]
Ø Counties that don’t meet federal air quality standards may lose federal highway dollars, and have less ability to recruit new industries and prepare for expected growth in vehicle miles traveled.
Clean Cars, Cleaner Air
Ø Beginning in 2008, the Clean Car Standard would require 90% of all new conventional cars sold in the state to meet tighter emissions requirements. 10% of all new cars sold must be hybrids, or other very low-polluting, advanced technology vehicles.
Ø According to the most recent modeling available, the Clean Car Standard would reduce ozone pollution significantly over and above current federal regulations.[ix]
Ø The Clean Car standard can help areas reach or keep attainment with federal air quality standards, protecting public health and opening opportunity for further economic development.
Ø Eight states, covering 27% of the nation’s automobile fleet, have already adopted the Clean Car standard.[x]
How Much Does the Clean Car Standard Cost?
Ø The estimated per vehicle cost of implementing clean car standards ranges from $68 for passenger cars to $276 for larger trucks and SUVs, with an average per vehicle cost of $107.[xi]
Ø When compared to the average cost of a new vehicle (about $24,800), the additional cost of implementing clean car standards would amount to less than 1% of the total vehicle cost in almost every case.
Ø Clean Cars are more fuel efficient than today’s cars because they virtually eliminate evaporative fuel loss.
Ø There is little to no expected additional cost to state government to implement the program.
What About My Pick-Up Truck?
Ø The Clean Car standard requires new cars sold to meet new standards. It does not affect cars or light trucks sold before 2008.
Ø Technology exists to make all vehicles—from sedans to SUV’s to pickup trucks—less polluting. Automakers are already making cleaner, conventional trucks and SUV’s, as well as hybrid SUV’s in other states. Ford’s Hybrid version of the Escape recently won the North American Car of the Year award.
Why Not Stick With the Federal Government’s Automobile Emission Standards?
Ø Many of the North Carolina’s metropolitan areas need additional measures to help them comply with federal ozone standards, or to create a buffer to allow for growth.
Ø The current federal emissions standard, called Tier 2, doesn’t help the development and availability of advanced-technology vehicles. The Clean Car standard provides a strong incentive for automakers to sell more hybrid electric cars, which will help meet the high consumer demand that has resulted in waiting lists of up to six months for cars like the Toyota Prius.
Ø The Clean Cars plan is estimated to reduce smog pollution over and above federal emissions standards, the difference between healthy and dirty air for many areas.
For more information, contact:
Elizabeth Ouzts, NCPIRG, (919) 833-2070, [email protected]
Tom Bean, Environmental Defense, (919) 495-1485, [email protected]
Molly Diggins, NC Sierra Club, (919) 833-8467, [email protected]
[i] UNC School of Public Health, http:// www.sph.unc.edu/news
[ii] American Lung Association of NC, http://www.lungnc.org
[iii] US EPA, “8-Hour Ground Level Ozone Designations.” http://www.epa.gov/ozonedesignations/regions/region4desig.htm; Population Division, US Census Bureau http://www.census.gov/popest/counties/tables/CO-EST2003-01-37.pdf.
[iv] Abt Associates. Out of Breath: Health Effects from Ozone in the Eastern United States. http://www.abtassociates.com/reports/ozone.pdf. page 30.
[v] U.S. EPA, National Air Toxics Assessment, 1996 http://www.epa.gov/cgi-bin/broker?geo=STNC&pol=43218&city=1&typ=c&_service=nata&_program=nata.scl.com
[vi] NC Division of Air Quality, http://daq.state.nc.us/news/brochures/smokewheels.pdf
[vii] Mecklenburg County: “What Contributes to Outdoor Air Pollution in Mecklenburg County?” page 20 http://www.charmeck.org/NR/rdonlyres/eo4kiipsrik2l3o7yzzakhp3t5cxs652kan2y6trhkqpkwrzrxyb55wvgr6k3wtwuateli5owma2lh4tikst4a5vt5e/air.pdf
[viii] U.S. EPA, “8-Hour Ground Level Ozone Designations.” http://www.epa.gov/ozonedesignations/regions/region4desig.htm
[ix] NCPIRG Education Fund, Clean Cars, Cleaner Air, p.17
[x] California, New York, Massachusetts, Vermont, Maine, New Jersey, Rhode Island and Connecticut.
[xi] California Air Resources Board (CARB), “Final Statement of Reasons for Rulemaking Including Summary of Comments and Agency Responses, Public Hearing Date November 5, 1998.” Pp 40-44