Drive For A Cleaner Future On The Information Superhighway

Many people are aware that cars with good fuel efficiency are better for the planet than trucks that get fewer miles to the gallon, but did you know a solid-colored car can be better for the environment? A new Environmental Defense Fund (EDF) website, Green Car: Guide to Cleaner Vehicle Production, Use and Disposal, tells you why. Painting and coating is the most polluting process of vehicle assembly. Two-tone paint jobs require a second trip through the paint booth, generating far more air pollution than a single- color paint job, so picking a solid-colored car can help reduce pollution.

The free EDF site offers a truckload of recommendations for choosing and using your vehicle to minimize its impacts on the environment (select Vehicle Use). One significant source of environmental damage from vehicles is the pollution coming out of the tailpipe, which accounts for about 50 percent of America’s air pollution, according to US Environmental Protection Agency estimates. For drivers concerned about the impact of their pollution, the site offers a Tailpipe Tally, which calculates the pounds of pollutants your make and model of vehicle sends into the air each year.

“The Tailpipe Tally clearly shows that driving a sport utility vehicle, minivan or light truck is much worse for the environment than driving a car, which produces roughly 40 percent less emissions,” said EDF policy analyst Christo Artusio.

The site also offers tips for reducing the pounds of pollution that your car generates. For example, flooring the gas pedal at intersections (jack-rabbit accelerations) consumes up to 50 percent more fuel and generates 100 times more carbon monoxide than slow, smooth acceleration.

The EDF site also offers suggestions for vehicle purchasing. Lightweight cars with higher gas mileage and lower emissions levels are currently the least damaging vehicle choice for the environment. EDF and other environmental groups, however, are calling on auto manufacturers to offer consumers cleaner vehicles in all classes. EDF is promoting a Green Vehicle Standard for the auto industry. The standard calls on automakers to offer a vehicle during the year 2000 that is at least 50 percent more fuel efficient than other vehicles in its class, meets the tightest California emissions standards, and was built using state-of-the-art clean production practices. Visitors to the Green Car site can let the auto industry know they want the choice of greener vehicles by signing the Green Vehicle Pledge.

“By committing to integrate green vehicle standards into their purchase decisions, consumers can convince automakers that there is market demand for clean production processes and products,” said Kevin Mills, director of EDF’s Pollution Prevention Alliance.

Major funding for the Green Car site was provided by the Joyce Foundation of Chicago.