The Daily News

Consumers can save significant bucks under the Minnesota Clean Car Act, a move to hack through the state's pollution and push the need for more fuel efficient cars. Wilkin County residents would save $780,000 on gasoline between now and 2020 if this bill gets passed, said Monique Sullivan, advocate for Environment Minnesota.

"With this economy, it means they would have greater access to cars that would be cheaper to operate," she said.

At a price of $1.74 per gallon, Minnesota drivers would save $1.4 billion until 2020. Even if gas prices return to $3 per gallon, the state would save $2.4 billion.

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If the House and Senate bills are approved, 13 million metric tons of global warming pollution and other pollutants would be cut by 2025, according to Environment Minnesota's Web site. In May 2008, the Minnesota Climate Change Advisory Group recommended that the Legislature adopt a clean car standard to reduce emissions to 30 percent by 2016.

Automakers would also be forced to adapt to these methods, such as providing an annual report on each fleet's emissions.

"If we do (pass the bill), close to 50 percent of new car sales will have adopted them," said Sullivan.

As a quarter of the state's pollution can be trailed to the transportation sector, Sullivan said it's an issue everyone needs to address.

"We'd be following 14 other states that adopted the exact same standards," she said.

Both House and Senate bills for the Clean Car Act are currently making their way through committees, leaving next week as the last chance for policy hearings. Sullivan is encouraging residents to contact their local legislator and get their support.

"I think legislators need to hear from individual citizens who want to save money at the pump and want to stop global warming," she said. "They're definitely hearing complaints from the auto manufacturers, so it's easy to make that quick phone call."

Comments

Eagle wrote on Mar 24, 2009 3:59 PM:

" I wonder why Ms Sullivan never mentions that the standards she's proposing will be set and adopted by the California Air Resources Board (CARB), NOT by anyone in Minnesota or in Washington, for that matter. CARB is an 11-person board whose members are appointed by the governor of California. Currently, Minnesota standards fall under the auspices of the United States Environmental Protection Agency. If Ms Sullivan has her way, we will give up any oversight of our own air quality standards to an unelected board on the West Coast. I don't believe Minnesotans want that. "




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