Copyright 1999 Plain Dealer Publishing Co.
The
Plain Dealer
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May 4, 1999 Tuesday, FINAL / ALL
SECTION: EDITORIALS & FORUM; Pg. 8B
LENGTH: 393 words
HEADLINE:
CLEANING UP SUVS' ACT
BODY:
The driving public's
insatiable demand for light trucks, including mini-vans and sport-utility
vehicles, has been a major factor in the rising fortunes of U.S. automakers. But
the popularity of this class of vehicles - which now accounts for nearly half of
all new units sold each year - threatens to erode the significant gains made in
recent decades against air pollution.
That's because light trucks, which
release two to five times as much pollution as the typical car, have long been
exempted from the strict emission requirements applicable to passenger vehicles.
And with gas prices comparatively low, automakers have spent recent years
producing trucks that are larger, less fuel-efficient and more profitable. All
of this, however, is about to change. The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency
has drafted new regulations that would close the light-truck
loophole. By 2009, all light trucks must meet the standards that now apply to
passenger cars, which are themselves being required to run far more cleanly than
today. The new rules also would require the oil industry to drastically reduce
sulfur levels in gasoline.
The White
House approved the new rules last week and sent them out for public comment.
They will become final later this year, provided they are not gutted by a
Congress often hostile to environmental initiatives.
Assuming they are
adopted as proposed, the effect on air quality could be dramatic. By itself, for
example, the move to low-sulfur gas is said to be the
equivalent of taking 54 million cars off the road.
There will be a cost,
of course. Oil industry spokesmen have said the sulfur rules
will add 5 to 6 cents to the cost of a gallon of gas, and the emission
requirements are expected to add $160 to $200 to the price. But that cost is
reasonable, considering the payoff: major cuts in smog, acid rain and
particulate pollution, with corresponding improvement in human health and in the
ability of states to cope with previously tightened standards for ozone and
other pollutants.
The proposed rules are not, of course, universally
admired. Environmentalists complained of a few remaining loopholes, and the oil
and auto industries are unhappy about losing the battle for weaker standards. In
fact, the EPA has struck a reasonable balance, and its proposal is worthy of
public and congressional support.
COLUMN: EDITORIALS
LOAD-DATE: May 5, 1999 
