Time to Cut Pollution From America's Autos

American cars and light trucks are a huge source of global warming pollution. U.S. autos emit more than 333 million tons of carbon dioxide each year, more than one-fifth of the nation's total carbon dioxide emissions.

Compared with the rest of the world, American auto emissions are disproportionately high. With only 5 percent of the world's population and 30 percent of the world's automobiles, the United States contributes 48 percent of the world's automotive CO2 emissions.

Any serious effort to fight global warming must include cutting auto emissions.

Our goals are to:

• Put public pressure on the auto industry to support a comprehensive national global warming policy.
• Educate car owners and drivers on what they can do to reduce emissions.
• Explore ways we can all do our part to improve fuel efficiency and cut global warming pollution from America's automobiles.

We don't all have to drive hybrids to have an impact. And, while we encourage everyone to use alternative forms of transportation whenever possible, the reality is that cars are a big part of the American culture.

So, if each of us did our part to reduce auto emissions—if we all bought the most fuel efficient cars that met our needs, if we all found ways to drive a little less, if we all did our best to keep our cars tuned up and maintained, and if we all participated in prioritizing global warming as a factor in our daily lives—we would significantly reduce global warming pollution from America's automobiles.

This isn't about one magic bullet that will solve the problem of global warming pollution from America's autos. This is about doing the hard work of changing the way Americans think about their cars and how we account for the global warming emissions from the tailpipes of each of our vehicles.

When we change the consciousness of every American driver, we will change behavior and ultimately we will see meaningful reductions in the global warming output from our cars.

Posted: 08-Mar-2007; Updated: 08-Mar-2007