Anyone who has experienced a red air day knows the metallic taste of air pollution that stings the nose and lungs. On red air days when pollution reaches unhealthy levels, people are encouraged to stay indoors and avoid outdoor activities, especially the elderly, children, pregnant women, and people suffering from respiratory illnesses.
Now, what do you think is the main cause of toxic air in most places?
MIAMI – JULY 11: Exhaust gases leak from vehicle tailpipe, “Muffler 4 Less”, July 11 … [+]
Gas and diesel-powered internal combustion engines spew pollutants into our lungs and into the atmosphere. More than two-thirds of Americans rely on personal vehicles for daily transportation. And transportation is now the largest source of greenhouse gas emissions in the United States, accelerating climate change, with light vehicles alone accounting for nearly 60% of the sector’s climate pollution.
To tackle the pervasive air pollution problem, we need to reduce tailpipe pollution from the cars we drive. Fortunately, we have a proven tool that makes vehicles cleaner and we all breathe easier: tailpipe emissions standards.
Last week, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency pulled this tool out of its clean air toolbox. The EPA made history by adopting new mixed pollutant regulations for light and light-duty vehicles that limit tailpipe pollution that pollutes the air we breathe and accelerates climate change. These updated standards require automakers to adopt the latest clean technologies to ensure new vehicles are cleaner than ever.
Everyone, everywhere, should choose to make their next car a clean one. Americans interested in reducing air pollution have the right to choose electric vehicles.
Polluters want EPA pollution limits to be hated
Air pollution affects 36 percent of the U.S. population, or nearly 120 million people. According to the American Lung Association, more than 1 in 3 Americans live in places with unhealthy levels of air pollution, and air pollution can affect children’s lung development, cause emphysema, asthma, and chronic bronchitis. May cause inflammation and other respiratory illnesses. People of color and low-income people are disproportionately affected by air pollution.
Anyone who wants to breathe clean air should celebrate this moment. But companies that make money selling air-polluting cars and wallet-burning oil see these standards as a threat. They argue that these standards threaten American freedoms and consumer choice.
But the truth is, these latest pollution limits are long overdue, and by cleaning the air we breathe and giving consumers the option to get off the expensive fossil fuel roller coaster, we’re all set to It will benefit Americans.
Considering the US fuel and petrochemical manufacturer has launched a “7-figure mega-issue campaign” and “One Belt” across seven key states: Pennsylvania, Wisconsin, Michigan, Nevada, Arizona, Ohio, and Montana. Let’s try it. All of this is aimed at informing Americans about the Biden administration’s policies. An effort to ban new gasoline, diesel, and flex-fuel vehicles from the U.S. market. ”
In other words, profit-seeking corporate polluters responded to the EPA’s updated tailpipe emissions standards by actively manipulating the American public into believing the standards were unreasonable.Their public disinformation campaign is trying to make people think this rule is a ban on gasoline-powered cars..
That’s just a mistake. By law, EPA does not and cannot ban technology or transportation. EPA’s standards are technology-agnostic, performance-based, and based on science and peer-reviewed research.
The Clean Air Act, signed in 1970, authorizes and directs the EPA to establish national air quality standards to protect the public health and welfare and regulate emissions of hazardous air pollutants. . The Clean Air Act also directs the EPA to regulate emissions from vehicles and engines and to adapt standards over time.
Early standards for light vehicles called for a 90% reduction in hydrocarbon, nitrogen oxide, and carbon monoxide emissions. This has spurred the development of new engines, emissions control technologies such as catalytic converters, and a switch to unleaded fuel.
Before the Clean Air Act was signed, our cities had so much air pollution that breathing New York City air was as bad as smoking two packs of cigarettes a day, and Los Angeles had more than 200 unhealthy days a year. were suffering from high levels of air pollution. .
(Original caption) June 13, 1979 – Los Angeles, California – A lone spectator looks out over smog-filled downtown Los Angeles. … [+]
Fifty years later, our air is much cleaner. However, despite decades of progress in reducing harmful emissions, air pollution from motor vehicles continues to negatively impact public health, welfare, and the environment. Gasoline cars constantly emit ozone, climate pollution, particulate matter, and other toxic chemicals into the air.
These same corporate polluters who are fighting EPA’s clean air efforts today have been fighting clean air for the same reason: profit.
EPA’s latest standards will help level the playing field where more advanced technologies, such as battery electric vehicles, can compete in the marketplace. These signals to the auto industry that now is the time to take advantage of rapidly declining EV battery costs and offer more affordable, clean vehicle options to all consumers.
Most importantly, the EPA’s rules allow fossil fuel profiteers to pass on pollution and higher fuel costs to Americans, pollute the air we breathe, and threaten our health and climate stability. It corrects the market failures that enabled the damage.
Improved tailpipe pollution standards mean improved quality of life
EPA’s updated standards put the United States on a new trajectory toward cleaner air, better health, and a stable climate by setting responsible limits on tailpipe pollution. These rules will mean more affordable and cleaner vehicle models will be on the road for decades to come, saving consumers money every year over the life of the vehicle. EV models now cost less to refuel than gas-powered cars in any state, putting money back into people’s wallets every time they travel.
Data shows that electric cars cost less to refuel than gas-powered cars in every state.
EPA’s final rule provides more criteria for pollutants and greenhouse gases for model years 2027 through 2032 for light vehicles (passenger vehicles) and Class 2b and 3 medium duty vehicles (classes are based on total vehicle volume). We have adopted strict emission standards. Weight Rating; Ford F-250 is a Class 2b vehicle; Ford F-350 is a Class 3 vehicle).
According to EPA estimates, the rules are:
- Reduce harmful air pollutants by 8,700 tons of particulate matter, 36,000 tons of nitrogen oxides, and 150,000 tons of volatile organic compounds by 2055. These pollutants cause smog, soot, and bad air days.
- It provides $13 billion in health benefits annually.
- From 2027 to 2055, we will reduce the transport sector’s net CO2 emissions by approximately 7.2 billion tonnes (our largest source of greenhouse gas emissions, accounting for 29% of our total).
- Provide regulatory incentives for automakers to produce engines that emit fewer harmful pollutants, allowing more people to choose cleaner cars.
- Increase sales of zero-emission battery electric vehicles over the long term, from 26% of all new car sales in 2027 to 56% in 2032
- Providing $99 billion in annual net benefits to society by 2055. This includes $46 billion in annual fuel cost savings and nearly $16 billion in driver maintenance and repair cost savings.
- Consumers save an average of $6,000 over the life of a clean new car.
- Expanding consumer choice for American drivers.
Strong standards and new incentives will clean the air for generations to come
EPA’s updated standards, combined with new Clean Vehicle Incentives in the Control Inflation Act and new funding in the Bipartisan Infrastructure Act, are poised to transform the way we get around. Tax incentives and new funding for vehicles, infrastructure, manufacturing, and the entire clean vehicle supply chain could propel the United States toward transportation transformation.
As it has for the past 50 years, the EPA is improving air quality. These updated standards reflect the significant investments the auto industry is already making in clean vehicle technology and support growing consumer demand for clean air and a climate-safe future.
Before long, modern standards can leave you with days of harmful red air in your rearview mirror. This is something that will help us all breathe easier.
