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.