| May 16, 2005
Consumers Encouraged to Select Environmentally Friendly Vehicles as
Smog Season Begins
The Southland’s air agency
will take its clean air message to the streets today with the debut of three
ultra-low-emission vehicles wrapped with colorful artwork urging consumers
to make an environmentally friendly choice when buying a new car.
Wrapped in artwork and logos representing AQMD’s Clean Air Choice
program, the vehicles will be seen by up to 3,000 people an hour when driven
on Southland roadways.
“For those of us who live and work in Southern California, the lifestyle
choices we make can have a huge impact on air quality,” said Dr. William
Burke, Chairman of the Governing Board of the South Coast Air Quality
Management District.
“Passenger vehicles are the single largest source of air pollution in the
Southland, responsible for about 25 percent of all smog-forming emissions,”
he said. “The most important environmental choice we can make is the type of
vehicle we choose to drive, and Clean Air Choice vehicles are more than
three times cleaner than the average 2005 model car.”
Matt Petersen, President of Global Green USA said, “Today’s unveiling is
another step in providing consumers with fuel-efficient vehicles that will
provide dramatic gas savings while helping to improve our health, reduce our
dependence on oil and stop global warming. It’s exciting to see California
continue to lead the way in educating the public. We must continue this
leadership by urging manufacturers to be more aggressive in meeting the
growing consumer demand for truly clean cars."
The three wrapped vehicles to be unveiled today will be the Toyota Prius,
Honda Civic hybrid and Ford Escape hybrid.
The AQMD plans to showcase select Clean Air Choice vehicles this summer
as the centerpiece of its sponsorship of the Twilight Dance Series on the
Santa Monica Pier. The popular live concert series, which runs from June 30
to September 1 this year, annually attracts 100,000 music lovers.
Highlights of this summer’s music line-up will be announced at today’s
event.
At the event, Toyota, Honda and Ford will also display three of their
Clean Air Choice vehicles, including the 2006 Toyota Highlander hybrid; the
Ford Focus, a Partial Zero-Emission Vehicle; and the Honda Civic GX natural
gas vehicle, along with the new natural gas home refueling unit marketed
under the name “Phill.”
The Clean Air Choice program is an initiative to help new car buyers
easily identify vehicles that emit less smog-forming emissions than the
average new car available today. Under the program, participating auto
dealers prominently post a colorful Clean Air Choice label on a select list
of new vehicles that are among the lowest-polluting models in the world,
certified by the California Air Resources Board (CARB) as either:
· Advanced Technology – Partial Zero Emission Vehicles (AT-PZEVs);
· Partial Zero Emission Vehicles (PZEVs); or
· Super Ultra Low-Emission Vehicles (SULEVs).
Clean Air Choice vehicles will emit only about two pounds of hydrocarbons
over 100,000 miles of driving – equivalent to that from spilling a pint of
gasoline. In comparison, a new 1965 car emitted about 2,000 pounds of
hydrocarbons when driven 100,000 miles.
AQMD supports the program by providing dealers with labels and flyers
explaining the program, updated lists of all Clean Air Choice models, a
website and ongoing outreach to the public and auto dealers on the benefits
of Clean Air Choice vehicles.
In addition, AQMD displays Clean Air Choice vehicles at numerous
community events throughout its four-county region.
An updated list of 2005 and 2006 Clean Air Choice vehicles is available
at
www.cleanairchoices.org.
AQMD is the air pollution control agency for Orange County and major
portions of Los Angeles, San Bernardino and Riverside counties.
For the past three years, Global Green USA has brought dozens of
celebrities to the Academy Awards in hybrid vehicles, including the Prius,
as part of its Red Carpet/Green Cars initiative. Global Green USA, the
American Affiliate of Green Cross international led by Mikhail S. Gorbachev,
works in cooperation with individuals, industry and governments to create a
global value shift toward a sustainable and secure future.
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