California to Introduce Green Car Labels

Constantly pushing to be at the forefront of environmental efforts, California is set to introduce green labels for all cars and trucks beginning in 2009. The labels will give consumers a clear picture of the environmental impact of a vehicle through an easy-to-understand 1-10 scale.

The overall environmental score will be the result of two factors. First, it will measure the amount of smog produced by the vehicle. Second, it will take into account its impact on climate change by measuring emissions. The average new car will score a five on both scales, with a higher score signifying a lesser environmental impact.

All New Cars Sold in California Will Need 'Green' Labels (Sacramento Business Journal)

Comments

[Keith]

This type of information is available on fueleconomy.gov already.

[Dave T.]

Keith,
I believe the story is that they'll be on the car's sticker at the dealer.

[Adam]

Sounds like a great idea to me. Not everyone is as car saavy as some of us, and this will help buyers looking for a greener alternative.

[GV]

that sounds really cool!!! they should bring it yo all states and metropolitan areas.

[J]

The Insight gets only 8? What gets the 10? EV-1? RAV4 EV?
Or Ferrari bicycle?

[kalikidtx]

wait that doesnt make a ton of sense, so higher score equals lower impact, why didnt they do say lower score equals lower impact, 1 sounds better than 10 in an environment context anyways...dont ya think?

[woogie]

How about including the environmental impact of manufacturing?

All that nickel in the batteries of hybrids is a huge impact due to the mining and smelting. Increased use of copper for the motors etc.

What about the environmental impact when these vehicles reach the end of their usefulness?

Those batteries will continue to pose a problem.

There's a lot more to the environmental impact than just the driving of the vehicle.

[Original Red]

Woogie,
Batteries are used quite extensively in our civilization, and I don't hear too many people calling them a problem - especially with the recycling infrastructure in place to deal with spent cells. If criminals are willing to break into homes to steal copper wire and pipes to be sold for scrap, don't you think the components of hybrids and PHEVS will be recycled?

[LM]

This is a great idea!

[woogie]

It's not that they won't be recycled it's the impact on the environment of the recycling.

Those batteries in the current hybrids haven't reached the point of entering the recyling system in quantity.

It is somewhat naive to ignore the entire life cycle of the vehicle in terms of environmental impact. Sure it's cleaner to drive but is it cleaner to manufacture and to dispose of.

These vehicles have more complex systems, more parts and utilize natural resources not normally found in cars. Just the fact that it takes more time to assemble the vehicle over a standard vehicle adds to the negative environmental impact.

Google Sudbury and look at the mess created by nickel mining and processing.

The recycling of copper is not going to provide all the copper needed for production. The shortage of copper is due to the increased demand which is increasing the price and making copper theft a lucrative business.

[woogie]

It's not that they won't be recycled it's the impact on the environment of the recycling.

Those batteries in the current hybrids haven't reached the point of entering the recyling system in quantity.

It is somewhat naive to ignore the entire life cycle of the vehicle in terms of environmental impact. Sure it's cleaner to drive but is it cleaner to manufacture and to dispose of.

These vehicles have more complex systems, more parts and utilize natural resources not normally found in cars. Just the fact that it takes more time to assemble the vehicle over a standard vehicle adds to the negative environmental impact.

Google Sudbury and look at the mess created by nickel mining and processing.

The recycling of copper is not going to provide all the copper needed for production. The shortage of copper is due to the increased demand which is increasing the price and making copper theft a lucrative business.

[bowrider]

I can understand why CA is implementing this, but it's misleading. The impact of emissions on the climate is a theory. Did somebody prove this as a fact and I missed it?

[Keith]

This little sticker is going to give the average consumer that warm and fuzzy feeling that they are helping the environment. Maybe the people of California should think about how many additional trees will be harvested, how many more chemicals will be produced, how much energy will be wasted and how much landfill space will be consumed to have these wonderfully informative stickers.

[segfault]

What's an "Accord i-CTDi?" The diesel Accord that we don't have yet?

[Mart]

Even weirder is that Accord is the old model Euro Accord (aka Acura TSX)

[tenzil]

For everyone like bowrider who will use semantics to argue against the correlation between human-caused emissions and climate, I offer this. "Facts" are individual pieces of data that are used to support "theories." In science, even very well-supported conclusions are "theories" just like the theory of gravity. Conclusions about climate change cannot be dismissed just because it is called a "theory."

In response to the concerns about the impact of manufacturing new car components, new technologies have to start somewhere. I agree that we have to be careful about sources of new materials and their waste streams but new technologies are not magically perfected in one go. A replacement for an old technology is almost never conjured up without at least some time in development. Additionally, it is financially risky for huge companies to put all their eggs in one basket, investing in a single new way of replacing conventional automotive technology. Perhaps we cannot afford to be blindly optimistic, but we have to be willing to take a chance on that next big step. The status quo may be comforting but it is well past time when we should be looking ahead.

Maybe a simple car sticker seems like pandering to the green market, but there are plenty of people who still need to be reminded or convinced to think about larger issues.