What's New
Last year, the Maryland General Assembly passed the Clean Cars Act, Environment Maryland's top priority for the year. This legislation will reduce global warming pollution by 4.4 million tons per year by 2016 when it is fully phased in. It will also reduce smog-forming pollution by 3,600 tons per year and cancer-causing pollution by 100 tons per year by 2025 compared to federal standards.
However, the Bush administration has blocked states from implementing clean cars programs. We have joined a lawsuit to overturn this decision, and are urging the presidential candidates to pledge to reverse it.
How You Can Help
States need to get approval from the EPA to implement the clean cars standards. In previous versions of
the standards, this has been a pro forma procedure. This time, however, the EPA has prevented states from moving forward.
Send an e-mail to the leading presidential candidates urging them to reverse this decision on day one.
Brief Summary
Global
warming is already affecting our world. It leads to rising sea levels,
more intense storm activity, stronger extremes in temperature fluctuations,
disruption in habitat and agriculture, and other problems. How much worse
these problems get depends on how early we take action to adopt solutions.
One
of the biggest steps we can take toward addressing global warming is to make
better cars. Ten other states have already adopted stricter standards for
global warming pollution from cars and trucks. Maryland
should join this group.
Environment
Maryland recently helped pass the
Clean Cars Act. This policy would require major auto manufacturers to
make and market cars with reduced global warming emissions. Cleaner cars
would be more widely available on Maryland
new car lots if this bill passes, and the manufacturers would be required to
structure their sales incentives to ensure they sell as many clean cars as gas
hogs.
