Great Lakes Article:

Vehicle emissions rule approved
N.Y. move against greenhouse gases called likely to change manufacturing
By Misty Edgecomb
Democrat and Chronicle
Published November 10, 2005

(November 10, 2005) — The air above Rochester's skyline could be cooler and clearer in the future, now that New York auto dealers must sell cars and trucks that produce lower levels of greenhouse gas emissions.

The state Environmental Board on Wednesday gave unanimous approval to the rule, which requires better control of carbon dioxide, methane, nitrous oxide and hydrofluorocarbons by model year 2009.

New York is the third state to address greenhouse gas emissions from vehicles, following California, where the rule was designed, and Vermont, where it was finalized last week. New York's economy — the 10th largest in the world — is key to changing how cars and trucks are made, supporters said.

"When New York and California both agree on the auto market, it makes the whole country goes along," said Hugh Mitchell, a Rochesterian active in the Sierra Club's Atlantic Chapter.

Indeed, eight additional states are expected to finalize emissions rules by year's end, and Canada is reported to be taking similar action.

Statewide, transportation is estimated to contribute one-third of the greenhouse gases produced, according to state statistics. There are half a million registered vehicles in Monroe County.

Along the Great Lakes, where water levels could be drastically altered by a warming climate, the issue of climate change is particularly relevant, according to the state Department of Environmental Conservation. Falling lake levels could adversely affect drinking water supplies and hydroelectric power production, as well as shipping and recreation.

And higher temperatures would increase the production of ground-level ozone, which already causes the six-county Rochester area to violate the Clean Air Act and triggers breathing problems every summer for thousands of local people with asthma, according to the DEC.

"New Yorkers are regularly exposed to some of the worst air in the Northeast," said Theo Spencer of the Natural Resources Defense Council, addressing reporters by phone Wednesday.

New York alone could keep 15 million tons of greenhouse gases out of the atmosphere by 2020 and avoid 26 million tons by 2030, according to the DEC. That won't solve the global climate problem (New York contributes just 1 percent of total greenhouse gas emissions), but it's one of the biggest steps that the state can take, said Christine Vanderlan of Environmental Advocates of New York.

New York moved quickly in approving the change, which Gov. George Pataki first proposed in his 2003 State of the State address.

The effort is not without its detractors, however. A spokesman for the New York State Automobile Dealers Association was unavailable for comment Wednesday, but the organization has raised questions about the cost of such a requirement. An auto dealers association in California estimated that the new technology would cost $3,000 per car; the group has filed a lawsuit, still pending, to challenge the rule. And some said Wednesday that legal challenges are anticipated in New York.

However, the state regulators in California countered that the cost would average only $1,000 per car — all of which would be repaid in greater fuel efficiency over the life of the car.

Roland Hwang of the Natural Resources Defense Council said Wednesday that the new standards can be met with existing technology. Simple fixes such as improving the seals on air-conditioning hoses can make a big difference, he said.

MEDGECOM@DemocratandChronicle.com