Clean Air News

As the new home of RIPIRG's environmental work, Environment Rhode Island can be contacted regarding this news release.

Providence, RI. -- As Rhode Island suffers through another smoggy summer, RIPIRG and the American Lung Association of Rhode Island announce a new campaign to bring cleaner cars to the state. RIPIRG released a new report, Ready to Roll: The Benefits of Today's Advanced Technology Vehicles for Rhode Island, documenting the availability, consumer demand and air quality benefits of clean car technology in Rhode Island. Ready to Roll finds that adopting the Clean Cars Standard could bring as many as 93,000 new ultra clean gasoline powered, hybrid electric, or alternative fueled cars onto Rhode Island's roads between 2007-2011.

Ready to Roll highlights the new technologies that have already been developed, or are being developed to make cars cleaner and run on less gasoline. Hybrid-electric cars, natural gas vehicles, battery-electric and clean conventional vehicles are all ready to roll but availability of these cars in Rhode Island is either limited or non-existent.

"While automakers and the Bush administration tout long-range plans to bring large numbers of fuel cell vehicles to the market, they are moving slowly to bring already developed clean car technologies to Rhode Island consumers," stated Kate Canada, RIPIRG advocate. "The technology is available now to put cars on the roads that are cleaner, and more efficient. Rhode Island needs to implement the Clean Cars Standard and bring more of these vehicles to the state."

RIPIRG and a coalition of environmental and public health groups called on the governor to adopt the Clean Cars Standard (LEVII) which states such as Massachusetts, New York and California have already adopted. The Clean Cars Standard would guarantee that consumers have the option of purchasing clean, advanced technology vehicles here in Rhode Island.

"As Rhode Island suffers through another smog season, we've already seen six unhealthy air days," stated Kate Canada, RIPIRG Advocate. "We need to address one of the biggest sources of air pollution we have in Rhode Island, cars, and to bring cleaner, advanced technology cars to Rhode Island."

Despite tougher national automobile emissions standards, Rhode Island continues to face significant automobile related pollution problems. Rhode Islanders are driving more—vehicles traveled on Rhode Island roads has increased by 47% since 1980—but while newer cars are cleaner, people are driving more, eroding the gains from cleaner technologies. Transportation is the largest in-state source of Rhode Island's smog, toxic air pollution and global warming emissions. The number of unhealthy smog days has tripled over the past three years, with the air on one day a week last summer being unhealthy to breathe. In addition to smog, residents of Rhode Island are exposed to benzene levels six to eleven times higher than the acceptable cancer risk set by the EPA. Transportation is also responsible for 31% of Rhode Island's greenhouse gas emissions, which causes global warming.

"The entire state of Rhode Island was given an "F" for air quality in our 2003 State of the Air report," stated Art Handy, Communications Director of American Lung Association of Rhode Island. "Putting cleaner cars on the road is going to make our air safer to breathe."

Rhode Island's over reliance on inefficient gasoline powered cars is also leaving the state very susceptible to oil price spikes and supply disruptions. These problems will continue to grow over the next decade as global petroleum supplies tighten.

Advanced technology vehicles can alleviate many of these pollution problems faced by the state. Ready to Roll reports that the current generation of hybrid electric vehicles such as the Toyota Prius and Honda Civic, are approximately 90% cleaner than the average car on sale in Rhode Island today. Unfortunately, while these two models can be found at Rhode Island dealerships, the vast majority of the most promising advanced technology vehicles—such as ultra-clean conventional vehicles and battery-electric vehicles —may not be available from major automakers anywhere in Rhode Island. Most vehicles that meet the more stringent standard can only be found in states that have adopted the Clean Cars Standard. Adopting this program would bring these vehicles to Rhode Island, giving consumers more choices.

The report also documents the U.S. automakers resistance to bringing cleaner cars on the market, despite widespread popular support for clean vehicles. It will be at least another year before a U.S. automaker offers its first hybrid to the general public, even though a recent survey found that as many as 60% of potential vehicles buyers would consider buying a hybrid vehicle.

"Rhode Island cannot afford to let the clean cars revolution pass us by," stated Canada. "Cleaner cars are available now, and we urge Governor Carcieri to adopt the Clean Cars Standard immediately."

RIPIRG has made bringing cleaner cars to Rhode Island a summer campaign issue, talking to thousands of Rhode Islanders about clean cars and gathering support for the issue from Providence to Westerly. More information on RIPIRG's efforts and a downloadable version of the report, Ready to Roll, can be found at www.ripirg.org.

RIPIRG is a non-profit, non-partisan public interest advocacy organization with members throughout the state.