Buying An Environmentally Clean Car
July 19th, 2009 at 04:37am Under Environmental Law
The economic meltdown is causing serious difficulties for most Americans. With our investments and retirement accounts decked out in a very un-festive red, most of us cut back on our spending and reign in our shopping sprees and regular restaurant visits. Of course we could never give up a regular latte, it is the only way to start and end the work day.According to many knowledgeable sources though, now is the time to invest. Warren Buffet (investing guru of Berkshire Hathaway) is buying shares, home prices are depressed and interest rates are low and car dealerships have great deals.Maybe now is the right time for us to get a new fuel efficient car. Fuel efficiency is not the only criteria for a cleaner vehicle though, but for most of us finding out what is important and how a car rates environmentally is difficult.A new law took effect on January 1st 2009 in which all new vehicles manufactured after the 01/01/2009 and sold in California must display an Environmental Performance label. This label shows 2 scores from 1-10. A smog score and a global warming score. The higher the score the cleaner the vehicle.The Global Warming score is calculated on the greenhouse gas emissions, based on a CO2 equivalent grams per mile. The Smog score calculates the pollutant elements from the vehicle which include non-methane organic gases and nitrogen oxides. These scores are also calculated relative to other vehicles within the same model year. So think of these scores as a sliding scale test.Battery Electric cars of course get the best scores as well as requiring zero fuel and score 10 for both the smog and global warming. The average new car sold in California has a score of 5 for both. You can get more information on the Environmental Performance label at driveclean.ca.govCalifornia Governor, Arnold Schwarzenegger has been a strong advocate of raising emissions and fuel efficiency standards in California for some time and now President Obama has backed California’s strict policies. California wants automakers to build cars that can get an average of 40 miles per gallon by 2020, while federal requirements are asking for 35 miles per gallon.So there are a few ways we can evaluate the environmental effect of the new car we want to buy. We should look out for the Environmental Performance label and aim to get a car with higher smog and global warming scores. We should look at fuel economy and try to match or beat California’s 2020 efficiency standard of 40 mpg. Finally we will make sure we have a cup holder for a GoGreenMug http://www.gogreenmug.com.