Action Alerts
Help Support New York's Automobile Emission Regulations
August 18, 2000
The Issue
The New York State Department of Environmental Conservation (DEC) has published
proposed regulations adopting the second phase of California's Low Emission Vehicle
(LEV II) program and thereby opting out of the federal government's proposed automobile
emissions standards (Tier 2). New York's implementation of LEV II will be a major
step in cleaning up our air.
Background
Automobiles are major polluters. Transportation is responsible for 50% of all
the air emissions that cause smog, which decreases lung capacity and triggers
asthma attacks. Over one million New Yorkers have asthma and over 14 million state
residents live in areas where smog levels exceed the federal government's health
standard. LEV II would cut vehicle emissions and help protect the health of all
New York residents.
LEV II is superior to Tier 2 in a number of ways, and will result in cleaner air
for New York. LEV II will achieve greater pollution reductions for the chemicals
that cause smog: nitrogen oxides and non-methane organic gases. LEV II will require
minivans, pick-up trucks and sport utility vehicles (SUVs) to meet passenger car
emissions standards two years sooner than Tier 2. LEV II eliminates the current
double standard, holding diesel engines accountable to the same emission criteria
as gasoline powered engines. Most importantly, unlike Tier 2, LEV II promotes
the development of advanced technology vehicles such as zero emission vehicle
which have the potential to dramatically decrease pollution from automobiles over
the long term.
Automobile manufacturers have spent millions trying to influence decision makers
and shape public opinion against new technology, always exaggerating the difficulties
and costs of changing their operations. Given its history, the auto industry will
certainly invest major resources in opposing the adoption of the CA LEV II standards
in New York. Environmental Advocates and NYPIRG are urging groups and individuals
to comment in support of the regulations (6 NYCRR Part 218, Emission Standards
for Motor Vehicles and Motor Vehicle Engines and Part 200.9, Referenced Material).
Action
By responding to this alert (follow the directions below), an e-mail message can
be sent directly to Steven E. Flint at the DEC. Letters can also be mailed to
Mr. Flint at: New York State Department of Environmental Conservation, Division
of Air Resources, 50 Wolf Road, Albany, NY 12233-3255.
You can also attend any of the four public hearing scheduled in August to address
this issue:
* August 21 @ 1 pm, EPA Headquarters, New York, NY
* August 22 @ 1 pm, DEC, Albany, NY
* August 24 @ 1 pm, Convention Center at OnCenter, Syracuse, NY.
* August 25, @ 1 pm, Cheektowaga Town Hall, Cheektowaga, NY.
For more information about the CAL LEV II program in New York, contact Val Washington
(518-462-5526 ext. 228, vwash@envadvocates.org) of Environmental Advocates, an
allied member of the Clean Car Campaign. This message was sent to you by the Clean
Car Campaign - a national initiative to lead the automotive industry to produce
significantly cleaner vehicles. For more information about the Campaign, please
visit our website at:
http://www.cleancarcampaign.org
Thank you for your help.
Instructions To Respond Via The Web:
If you have access to a web browser, you can send the targets of this action a
free fax and sign the Clean Car Pledge (if you haven't already) by going to the
Environmental
Defense Member Action Site: http://actionnetwork.org/add.tcl?domain=Clean%5fCar
You will be required to log-in and establish a password prior to taking the
action. However, if you've already taken the Clean Car Pledge, just type your
email address in the form and hit submit. We strongly encourage you to make edits
directly to our sample letter (shown below), prior to sending your letter.
Sample Letter
Dear Mr. Flint,
I support New York's efforts to clear up automobile pollution by opting into California's
Low Emission Vehicle program (LEV II). LEV II holds more promise for a long term
solution to our serious air quality problem than the federal proposal.
Vehicles are a major source of pollution that affects the local and global environment.
Automobiles are large emitters of nitrogen oxides (NOx) and volatile hydrocarbon
emissions, which are precursors to ozone-smog and impair local air quality. One
study attributes over 510,000 asthma attacks in New York State during the summer
of 1997 to ozone-smog as the state continues in an upward trend of air quality
standard excedances. They also emit carbon dioxide, the most abundant greenhouse
gas, thereby contributing significantly to global climate change. One expected
impact of global climate change on New York is the loss of half the state's brown
trout habitat by 2050.
LEV II will help mitigate the problem of automobile pollution in a variety of
ways. The new standards will result in greater NOx reductions compared to the
Tier 2 program, and the evaporation limits in LEV II will result in a 65% greater
reduction in hydrocarbon emissions. LEV II will treat sport utility vehicles (SUVs),
minivans and pickups like the passenger vehicles they have become two years earlier
than the federal standards will, helping to mitigate the dirty air consequences
attending the current consumer craze for these types of vehicles. LEV II will
also end the more lenient regulatory treatment that diesel automobiles have enjoyed
to the detriment of the public health. Most importantly, the zero emission vehicle
(ZEV) mandate will push technology away from gasoline engines and toward cleaner
alternatives - a feature missing from the federal regulations.
New York is doing the right thing for our air and our lungs by opting into CAL
LEV II.
Sincerely,
