Ask the Best and Brightest: Should States Assess Environmental Scores?

by Frank Williams

Published: August 19th, 2008

ask the best and brightest should states assess environmental scores

Starting with 2009 models, the California Air Resources Board will require all new vehicles sold in the Golden State to carry a sticker which shows a CARB-determined "Smog Score" and "Global Warming Score." The Toyota Open Road Blog's editor Jon Thompson is all excited over this "because our Prius Hybrid is listed by CARB as one of its top 10 cleanest cars" and "Camry and Camry Hybrid are right behind Prius with scores of 9, and Highlander Hybrid follows closely along with a score of 8." Funny thing, though, he doesn't mention where Land Cruiser, Sequoia, Tundra, Tacoma or any of their other large trucks fall in those ratings. And all he says about the Global Warming score is that it's "based in part on the vehicle's greenhouse gas emissions." The part he doesn't mention, according to the CARB EP Label Fact Sheet ( click here to view): the greenhouse gases resulting from "fuel production." So when the Prius PHEV hits the market, will the score reflect the coal and other fuels burned to produce the electricity to recharge it? That could be an eye-opening addition to what Thompson terms the "growing amount of information that's available to help you make a studied automotive choice." So I put Thompson's closing question to our Best and Brightest: "Should this sort of labeling be adopted by all the states?"

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4 of 23 comments

N Number on Aug 19, 2008

No. Orian, Go to Antarctica. It is a polar ice cap. It is not ice-free by any means. See Greenland as well for similar results. Northern sea ice (which is seasonal) is at a lower summer volume than normal.

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Golden2husky on Aug 19, 2008
Considering that in all probability, our earth is going into a mini-ICE AGE over the next 80 years, the idiocy and fallicy of this global warming foolishness is going to slap everybody up side the head within about 48 months. As it stands right now, it’s mid August and here in Michigan (after having record snow last winter, virtually no spring and little summer), the trees are starting to turn color.... 48 months to a little ice age? Now that I just cleaned up my beer off my computer screen, care to place a bet on that? Since I had the joy of cleaning up the leaves every fall, I have an interesting observation. In the mid seventies, I clearly recall that by Halloween, the vast majority of the leaves were off the trees. I know because it was my responsibility to make them "go away." Our heat was also turned on by mid October, and the local ponds froze over most every winter. Fast forward to recent history: The trees still have at least half their leaves by Halloween, I turn my heat on starting November, and the local ponds rarely freeze at all, let alone enough to skate on. This trend has been going on for the past 10 years. Global warming? Absolutely, in my opinion. All due to man? Not 100% sure but I would be willing to put money on it. So, Menno, here's the deal. If over the next 5 years global temperatures trend downward, I will give $100 to a charity of your choice. Conversely, when they continue to trend up as they have since the start of the industrial revolution, you have to give $100 to a charity of my choice. Care to take the bet? I strongly suspect this site will still exist, although a new nemesis will have to be found after GM goes C11, so we will still be blogging away. Up for it?

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Landcrusher on Aug 20, 2008

who cares?

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Dugiv on Aug 20, 2008

I think its great, it makes car buying all the more easier. All the real interesting stuff will be 1's and 2's while the granny wagons and the peacenic cars will be closer to 9.

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