The Golden State Mandates Green Car Labels

Ever on the cutting edge of finding new and/or unique ways of reducing the tailpipe emissions of vehicles sold in the Golden State (more than 1.5 million per year), it seems like the folks in charge of the California Air Resources Board have come up with yet another. Let's hope this new requirement doesn't implode from automobile manufacturer backlash the way the state's Zero Emissions Vehicle (ZEV) mandate in the early '90s did. You know the one--it sent auto makers into a tizzy and spelled the demise of General Motors' way-ahead-of-its-time EV1 all-electric car. Ponder a bit more and you may remember it even inspired the 2006 documentary Who Killed the Electric Car? But we digress.

Effective January 1, 2009, every new vehicle sold in California must display a window label that rates its environmental performance in two key areas. Each label will report a score of 1 to 10 (worst to best) concerning said vehicle's contribution to both global warming and smog. It's part of California's efforts to educate the public about the relationship between vehicle emissions and environmental degradation--and maybe give a shot-in-the-arm to the state's push for a 30 percent reduction in tailpipe emissions by 2016. So far, automakers haven't really bristled, but they've shown that they can be easily pushed too far (shades of the ZEV). According to detnews.com, The Alliance of Automobile Manufacturers spokesman Charles Territo said, "Consumers today are more educated than ever before." He also noted that similar information is already available on the internet. One place is the Green Vehicle Guide on the Environmental Protection Agency's website.

We know that California legislators have their "hearts in the right places," but history has a way of repeating itself. And we sure hope that zeal doesn't overtake good sense and push clean emissions legislation over the edge. Remember what Grandma used to say? "Too much of a good thing is often just too much."

Environmental Performance Sticker © California Environmental Protection Agency