If you're in the market for a new car or truck, chances are you're paying close attention to the manufacturer's fuel economy claim that appears on each vehicle's window label.
The number of miles you can expect (or at least hope) to get under normal driving conditions will be an important factor in your purchase decision. But would even more information help you, as environmentally conscious shopper, to decide?
The federal Environmental Protection Agency thinks so and is working with the Department of Transportation on new label requirements that would provide consumers with simple energy and environmental comparisons across all types of vehicles, including electric vehicles, plug-in hybrid electric vehicles and your conventional gas guzzler.
The agencies announced today that they'd also like consumers to receive information on a vehicle's potential air pollutants, such as smog, that impact public health.
And they are asking you to help them decide which way to proceed by providing your comments on two potential label designs.
According to the agencies,
According to the agencies,
"One label design prominently features a letter grade to communicate the vehicle’s overall fuel economy and greenhouse gas emissions performance. The new design will also provide consumers with an estimate of the expected fuel cost savings over five years compared to an average gasoline-powered vehicle of the same model year.
"The second proposed label retains the current label’s focus on miles per gallon (MPG) and annual fuel costs, while updating the overall design and adding the required new comparison information on fuel economy and emissions."Both proposed label designs expand on the content of the current label by including new information on fuel consumption, tailpipe carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions and smog-related emissions. The new labels would provide information on a new web-based interactive tool that can also be accessed by smart phone. This tool would allow consumers to personalize the information about a vehicle’s performance."
Related: New York Times editorial: Cleaner cars, A to D
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Drought restrictions in New Jersey’s future?
Why climate-change legislation went nowhere
Did fear of protests cancel shale gas driller's conference?
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EnviroPolitics - Try it free for 30 days!
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The following was submitted by an "anonymous public sector employee." -- The Editor
ReplyDelete_____________________________________________
Well i beg to differ with USEPA.
First, there MPG City, Highway nos. are bogus, at least for my vehicle.
Second, why do they mandate ethanol in our gasoline? it is expensive, polluting, and totally ridiculous. An American cannot find gasoline sans ethanol anywhere in NJ or most of SE PA.
Third; how much will it cost the federal government and automotive factories, etc, etc to conduct the testing and research to even make such determinations and the total costs to put in on every vehicle.
Sorry... this is STUPID!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Finally, electric cars are a fringin' hoax.
Who will pay the high costs for the U.S. electricity 'infrastructure'? Doesn't anyone realize electricity companies will be charging a fortune per kilowatt hour; not now, while luring folks to abandon the internal combustion engine for the electric car, but once it has a captive audience?
All of this is so lame given the nation's needs at this time.. no matter what we do, it will amount to nothing more than the size of an ant when compared to the true power of global warming.
Lastly, why on earth should i care a rat's ass when the Chinese have already benefited from the death of our military in Iraq; their hoarding of petroleum world wide, even in Saudi Arabia working together on a brand new refinery?
The lunatics are running the Federal show....
sorry, but this sh*t doesn't matter to me when sugar costs $3.00 to $5.00 a lb., a three fold increase in three years due to commodity speculators.