What's New
After receiving thousands of public comments, reviewing thousands of
pages of information and hearing hours of technical testimony, on
November 27, the Environmental Improvement Board and the
Albuquerque-Bernalillo Air Quality Control Board voted
overwhelmingly to adopt Clean Car standards state-wide.
Cleaner
cars are good for New Mexicans. They reduce global warming and air
pollution emissions, while saving consumers money at the pump. That’s
why Environment New Mexico worked closely with Governor Richardson,
Mayor Chavez, the New Mexico Environment Department and the Albuquerque
Environmental Health Department in the Clean Cars rulemaking.
Unfortunately,
these Clean Car standards are already under attack. Four state
legislators and a handful of businesses have filed a frivilous
lawsuit
against the Environmental Improvement Board, claiming they lack
the
authority to adopt the standards. Car dealerships are also suing the
state of New Mexico in federal court, claiming that the Clean Car
standards violate law which prohibits states from adopting fuel economy
standards. And, in December 2008, over the objections of his technical
and legal staff, EPA Administrator Johnson denied New Mexico and twelve
other Clean Car states a waiver from the U.S. EPA which they need
before the greenhouse gas portion of the program can go into effect.
States and environmental groups are in court challenging this decision.
How You Can Help
Email
Representative George Hanosh, Senator John Arthur Smith, Senator
Timothy Jennings and Representative Jim Trujillo. Tell them to drop
their lawsuit and stop playing games with New Mexico's clean car
standards.
E-mail Governor Richardson and thank him for his leadership on the Clean Cars Program.
Brief Summary
Environment New Mexico is working to bring cleaner cars to New
Mexico. This step is critical to address the air pollution caused by
cars and trucks.
Vehicle exhaust creates ground-level ozone, an
air pollutant that impacts public health conditions like asthma and
lung disease. On-road motor vehicles are major contributors to smog.
Nationally, cars, pick-up trucks, vans and SUVs are responsible for
nearly one-half of all smog emissions.
Exposure to smog has been
linked to increased hospital emergency room visits, asthma attacks and
perhaps to the onset of asthma itself. Already, Bernalillo County, Rio
Rancho, Sunland Park and San Juan County have elevated ozone levels
which are approaching federal health standard limits. In Bernalillo
County, the state’s most heavily populated county, approximately 10
percent of children have asthma.
Cleaner cars are available now.
Automakers can make cars that are more efficient and release less
pollution, while offering us all the amenities and styles we are
accustomed to. Advanced-technology vehicles offer significant
reductions in global warming emissions and air pollution. Conventional
cars can be dramatically cleaner through technical innovation in
direct-injection engines, advanced transmissions and improved air
conditioning systems. There are also even more advanced cars, like
hybrids, which combine combustion engines with electric motors that
either replace the combustion engine or provide part of the power, to
reduce the burning of fossil fuels.
The Clean Cars Program
reduces global warming and air pollution emissions in three ways.
First, it sets strong standards for emissions of toxic air pollutants.
Second, its technology-driving component promotes advanced-technology
vehicles such as hybrids and electric cars. Third, the program
establishes fleet-wide average limits on emissions of pollutants that
contribute to global warming.
Cleaner cars are a win-win for New
Mexicans. These vehicles reduce our dependence on foreign oil, save
consumers money at the gas pump and protect pristine wild places from
oil and gas development. Tailpipe emissions of conventional air
pollutants would also be reduced.
