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 briefing Light Trucks and Air Pollution |
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overviewhealth and environment advanced vehicles  cars
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The Clean Air ChallengeDespite decades of air pollution control efforts, at least 92 million Americans still live in areas with chronic smog problems. The EPA predicts that by the year 2010, even with the benefit of current and anticipated control programs, more than 93 million people will live in areas that violate health standards for ozone (urban smog), and more than 55 million Americans will suffer from unhealthy levels of fine particle pollution. This pollution is especially harmful to children and senior citizens.While new cars and light trucks emit about 90 percent fewer pollutants than three decades ago, total vehicle miles driven have more than doubled since 1970 and are expected to increase another 25 percent by 2010. The emission reductions from individual vehicles have not adequately kept pace with the increase in miles driven and the market trend toward more polluting light trucks. As a result, cars and light trucks are still the largest single source of air pollution, accounting for one-quarter of emissions of smog-forming pollutants nationwide.
History of Light-Truck Emission LoopholesCurrent federal tailpipe standards allow sport-utility vehicles and trucks to pollute over twice as much as the average new car. In 2001, this gap will more than double under the National Low Emission Vehicle (NLEV) program as cars become cleaner, while the larger light trucks continue to receive special pollution exemptions.Pollution breaks were originally granted to light trucks because they were used primarily for hauling heavy cargo, they comprised a small share of the new vehicle market, and the state of engine and catalyst technologies were not advanced enough to achieve car-equivalent emissions. However, the situation has changed dramatically on all of these points in recent years.
An Air Pollution LiabilityToday most light trucks are used as basic transportation by their owners, while the largest truck categories--those most likely to be used as work vehicles--comprise only one-third of the light truck market. In fact, a study by the former American Automobile Manufacturers Association found that only 15 percent of all sport-utility vehicles are ever used for towing. Light trucks are the new passenger cars of choice, representing half of new vehicle sales.This trend toward light trucks has resulted in significant erosion in the benefits of government efforts to reduce air pollution from motor vehicles. UCS analysis shows that the light-truck loopholes, coupled with booming sales of sport-utility vehicles, have resulted in an additional 5,000 tons per day of smog-forming pollutants in our air during the summer smog season. This is equivalent to the pollution from 40 million cars, five times the number of cars sold last year.
Meeting the Same Standards as Cars
Under the California test program, it took less than a year to modify a Ford Expedition--which falls into the heaviest light-truck emission category--to meet the proposed Tier 2 standards. The engineers reduced the pollution level by 90 percent from the emissions standards by simply reprogramming the air/fuel system and adding a more durable catalyst. Furthermore, they subjected the catalyst system to rigorous testing under a "worst case" drive cycle that simulated heavy towing of up to 14,000 pounds, representing use on a "work truck." The total added costs of these improvements were estimated to be about $200 per vehicle on a full-size sport-utility vehicle. This $200 for improved pollution-control equipment is just a fraction of the price paid by consumers--or of the profit margin enjoyed by automakers--for most sport-utility vehicles. This is one of the cheapest air pollution mitigation investments that can be made. | |||||||||||||
UNION OF
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