Oregon is known for being green, and politicians this month have held true to this state’s laudable value of environmentalism. Exactly one week ago, aided by Gov. Kulongoski and eventually approved by the Oregon Environmental Quality Commission, Oregon adopted higher emission standards on vehicles.
Although there is no way to fully negate the environmental harm of driving a gas-powered vehicle, regulating the kinds of car models brought in for sale within a state, based on how much pollutants those models produce, is one of the best ways individual states can take action against global warming.
According to the Environmental Protection Agency, laboratory tests are conducted on vehicles before they can be sold to consumers in order to determine how much and what kind of emissions the car will produce. Pollutants such as carbon monoxide, formaldehyde and nitrogen oxide gases are evaluated in this testing.
Because different states have differing pollutant standards, some cars will not be sold in, say, a state like California which boasts some of the toughest emission standards in the country.
In fact, many states have begun to model their standards according to those of California.
We applaud Oregon for hopping on the bandwagon with stricter emission standards, which will formally begin in 2009. If states across the nation follow suit, as they ought to, auto manufacturers may eventually shy away from creating vehicles known to emit outrageous levels of pollutants, and the United States can pride itself on leading the world not just in terms of wealth, but environmental concern as well.