Emission Laws Too Stringent says SUV Owners

Anthony Fontanelle
February 15, 2007

Sports utility vehicles have been under attack recently because of their relatively poor fuel efficiency. But the members of the SUV Owners of America or SUVOA said that the law passed to decrease the amount of greenhouse gases from SUV emissions is unfair. The group is lobbying for lawmakers to overturn a law that they deem will not be beneficial to every party involved. The organization that the law passed in 2002 and will be implemented in 2009 will negatively affect millions of SUV owners which depend on it for their businesses. Among the people that the law will affect are farmers, ranchers, small businesses, contractors, boaters, campers, RV owners and families. All of whom relies in varying degrees in the capabilities of an SUV.

The communications director of SUVOA, Ron DeFore said that their main objective is to alert the general public as to what the law in question will bring to the different sectors which relies on SUVs. DeFore said that “Our goal is to alert California consumers before it’s too late. Like many laws passed with swell-sounding intentions and public debates, years down the road there will be a great reckoning when the rice tag and other consequences are felt.” He is talking about AB 1493 which will implement tougher emission standards which the organization deem pointless and very costly. This is due to the fact that component needs to be added to mass produced vehicles to reduce their emissions, this will mean increase in manufacturing cost which will translate to higher prices of vehicles.

The communications director for the SUVOA pointed out that the bill is originally calling for reduced CO2 emissions but was not approved in the State Assembly due to lack of support. He added that the bill was only passed because its supporters revised it secretly and was passed during a Senate weekend session without an open debate. This, he said is the reason why the law should be overturned since it did not offer a chance for the public to have a say in the said issue. He stated also that the supporters of the law were misguided since they were calling for a ridiculous decrease of CO2 emission which is a greenhouse gas - but is not a pollutant. This, in the eyes of SUVOA, is absurd since even if all the vehicles in California are eliminated its effect on global temperature would be very minute. DeFore cited that if all vehicles in California is eliminated it will only reduce the amount of greenhouse gases emitted all over the world by as much as one tenth of one percent.

The figure that he quoted makes it clear that the law is in fact pointless, and will only bring the prices of SUVs higher. The cost of newer SUVs will be a burden for the large number of people who owns and relies on the capabilities of SUVs, pick-ups, vans, and other light trucks. In an effort to make known to the public the threat that the law poses, the organization will be running an ad campaign that will emphasize on the long-term effect of the legislation to the huge number of people who needs SUVs.

While emission regulations are necessary to protect the environment, the formulation of such laws should take into account the different sectors that will be affected by it once it is implemented. The consideration of lawmakers should be the same as that of a motorist when looking for brake components at Active Brakes Direct .

Source: Amazines.com