An article...

[Michael A Perry <mperry@efn.org>]

This was in last Sunday's paper

> Sunday 12/26/99 Register Guard, Eugene OR, editorial section.
>
> Closing the SUV loophole
> New pollution standars will clear the air.
>
> President Clinton has closed a gaping loophole in the nation's clean air
> rules. On Tuesday he announced that by 2004 new cars will have to reduce
> their emissions of smog-producing pollution by 90 percent.  For the first
> time, minivans and sport utility vehicles will have to meet the new
> standars.  The nation can take a deep breath in appreciation.
>
> The automobile industry has already made great strides to reduce pollution
> from car engines.  Today's cars spew 95 percent less pollution than models
> made 25 years ago.  Thanks to this remarkable progress, several important
> measures of air quality in most Ameican cities have improved despite a near
> doubling in the number of motor vehicles and a 121 percent increase since
> 1970 in the number of miles driven.
>
> Reductions in tailpipe emissions have not been universal.  For purposes of
> clean air regulations, minivans and sport utility vehicles have been
> categorized as light trucks, which are exempt from the auto emissions
> standards.  The exemption was a minor one when it was granted.  But 51
> percent of all vehicles sold in the US in 1998 were minivans and SUVs.
> Because of their exemption they emit 2 to 5 times as much pollution as
> standard autos.
>
> The popularity of minivans and SUVs helps account for the fact that one
> major component of smog, nitrogen oxide, has increased by 11 percent since
> 1970. Motor vehicles produce 1/3 of all NOx pollution, and it is the only
> major smog causing pollution whose levels have increased over the past 30
> years.  Motor vehicles are also the source of about 1/4 of atmospheric
> soot.  The American Lung Assoc estimates that smog and soot cause 400,000
> asthma attacks, 1 million other repiratory problems and 15000 premature
> deaths each year.  Making minivans and SUVs subject to the new, more
> stringent standards should help bring about reductions in these health
> effects.
>
> The president also imposed new standards on oil refineries, which will have
> to reduce the sulphur content in gasoline by 90 percent.  The industry can
> meet this standard -- CA refineries already produce low sulphur fuel -- but
> it will increase the cost of gas by 2 to 6 cents per gallon.  The auto
> emission standards will also have a cost, estimated at $160 to $200 per
> vehicle.
>
> These costs will be offset by savings in medical expenses and reduced
> environmental degradation, as has been the case with existing air quality
> standards, which have had a positive net economic effect.  The aesthetic
> benefits of cleaner air can't be measured but must be considered: If fewer
> summer days in the Willamette Valley are cloaked in a blue haze, the
> standards are worth supporting.  And this time, minivans and SUVs will be
> subject to rules that should have applied to them all along.