Florida sees the light - adopts California's emission standards
Florida is joining the ranks of states that have signed on to California's toughest-in-the-nation auto emission standards. This makes 12 states, almost a quarter of the country, that think clean cars California-style are the way to go.Florida Governor Crist (pictured) will attack not only auto emissions but also greenhouse gases that come from the in-state electric plants, the Sun-Sentinel reports. Crist called his plan "very realistic." And also very important, considering all that Florida coastline that would be affected if global waring causes ocean levels to rise in the future.
For carmakers, the change will mean reducing "automobile and light truck emissions by 25 percent and sport-utility vehicle emissions by 18 percent starting with their 2009 models," according to the Sun-Sentinel. We'll see how California's regulations fare in the ongoing battle with the EPA. Automakers prefer a national approach to emissions rules.
[Source: South Florida Sun-Sentinel via Green Car Congress]
Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)
Jaji 10:07PM (7/27/2008)
I recently moved to Florida (Tampa), and I have never in my entire life have seen so many disabled vehicles in the highway. If Florida doesn't have a problem, we want to keep it that way!!! Yearly vehicle inspection is a necessity.
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Pete 9:03PM (12/06/2008)
No smog in Florida? What planet are you guys on? If you haven't been to Miami lately, then just watch the shots from the blimp during Dolphin football coverage. We are choking in smog down here!
I grew up in NY and moved to South FL in the 80's. In those days, when flying back to NY I'd be amazed at the nearly unlimited visibility as the planes would leave FL, and the terrible smog when arriving in NY. These days, there's a solid layer of smog across the state. I fly regularly within FL, as well as across the US and Caribban. Smog has no become a global problem, and FL is no longer exempt.
Kudos to Governor Crist for taking bold action.
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Wayne 10:48PM (1/16/2009)
I agree polution is not a good thing and we should do our best to keep the our water, land and air clean. I do not believe this global warming BS even a little bit. When we're having record low temperatures not only here in Florida but through-out the entire countries, you don't here much about global warming. let a summer day get 2 degrees above normal and listen to the chatter.
Yes the ice caps are melting, but they were water before they were ice. I'm guessing it was a lack of polution back then causing global freezing. Lets face it, the earth's tempratures go in cycles. This drink water, eat beans crap isn't going to save us from what the earths atmosphere is programed to do anyway.
The normal cycle changing of the earth's atmosphere is costing us a fortune in these green ideas our government has of putting more of our green in their wallets. They show you some ice melting and hold their hands out for your hard earned money. I guess ice was never water and should never return to water.Pleaseeeeeeeeeee
I have never seen people so gullable as they are today. Show them a wool hat and they shed tears for the naked sheep.
Who is making money from this? Who gets paid for all these inspections? Who gets to fine hard working people when they don't or can't meet all these emissions laws.
Go ahead and cheer on all these new regulations, but don't cry when your paying the bill.
Don't get me wrong, I do agree that a cleaner earth is a better earth. I just don't believe governments should monopolize it's people making it sound worse than it truly is.
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Chris 7:25PM (7/12/2007)
I wish Colorado would adopt those regulations, too. Especially now, with a Democratic Governor and the state Senate and the state House controlled by Democrats. And right now we are having ozone problems, too!
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bioburner 8:11PM (7/12/2007)
12 states huuu. That should be a wake-up call for the idiot in the White house.
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Mike Z 9:20PM (7/12/2007)
I live in Florida and I have a really had time understanding the proposal. Mainly the term 'emissions' because we really don't have a smog problem. I don't see any real need for emission testing.
So then is it mileage?
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Brian Dreggors 10:09PM (7/12/2007)
As Mike Z said, this is meaningless in a state that has neither smog problems nor emissions testing. Probably showing solidarity with the most illogical consortium of states in the Union.
P.S. State of Florida, before you start worrying about CO2 levels and global warming, how about some rudimentary vehicles inspections. No, not smogging; inspections. As a Florida motorist, I'm sick of driving around Tampa behind some yokel in a Tercel with a rear clip held on by bungee cords, electrical tape, and the Lord's good graces.
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Mike Z 10:27PM (7/12/2007)
And CO2 wise we have no wind in our state, and a lot of our power comes from natural gas---therefore the only real way to reduce CO2 in our state is Nuclear.
The NRDC's proposal to capture CO2 and ship it via pipeline to Texas really shows the extent to which some are willing to go to avoid nuclear.
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Joseph 12:04AM (7/14/2007)
I live in Florida, and we have no smog problems here. (Probably since the land is flat and we are surrounded by water)
This doesn't make much sense, but whatever. It's still a great thing!
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First 10:55AM (7/13/2007)
This is one stuid Idea. Futher limiting the choices for new Automobiles. Adding cost to new cars, making them slower and palin boring to drive. LA needs this law. Here in Florida we are fewer than 20 million. LA alone is 10...
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Jim 2:36PM (7/22/2007)
This is retarded. I've lived in Florida for years as well as having lived in CA for years.
CA's laws are NOT effective but they are very expensive to implement and enforce against the motorists. Back when I was poor and Californian, I drove a car with very worn piston rings. It would routinely eat about 1-2 quarts of high-viscosity motor oil per week driving around, emitting giant clouds of black smoke. Despite this, it managed to pass CA vehicle inspection 3 times in a row. Particulates apparently didn't count as "hydrocarbons" to the sniffer and the internally ruined catalytic converter still counted as being present. I passed visual inspection with flying colors and barely passed idle tailpipe testing. For this I was charged money at a mechanics shop and several hundred dollars worth to register my vehicle in CA.
Years later, I live in FL and own a much nicer car that doesn't pollute at all but here is the funny part. The car could never pass CA smog inspection because I have replaced all the stock emissions parts with non CARB parts. This doesn't mean the car pollutes, this only means my engine parts haven't been approved by CA's bureaucracy and thus it fails automatically, regardless of what comes out of my tailpipe.
Another reason applying such a law to Florida is stupid is because most of our residents don't register their vehicles here due to being tourists, snowbirds and similar migratory creatures.
The final stake in the heart of this idea is that unlike CA, FL doesn't consist of dense urban areas situated between easterly winds and high mountains. As a result, Florida has no smog problem, not even in the dense urban areas like miami and tampa. Any that is created just blows out to sea.
So basically this law will do nothing but earn Crist some dinner invitations from Al Gore but not really accomplish anything beyond screwing FL's citizens and making our government more expensive and intrusive. I've lived in CA before and we don't need more of that crap here.
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SuLAcks 7:45AM (8/14/2008)
Jim your so right.
I lived in Florida for years and I had to come out to LA CA for a family emergency this past year. I don't want to live here with the NOT working laws and fees the county and state impose!!! But I am stuck here for a while. It is a shame that a city as beautiful as LA could be so difficult to live in. It amazes me when I here people say they love it here. They have no clue how much easier life really is. I hope I get to come home soon!
DANIEL D MARTIN 8:34AM (12/12/2007)
Ido not understand why we can not be growing already 10 times more sugarcane for ethanol desteliries(not for sugar)and jatropha for biodiesel to run our agromachines,makes great economic and geopolitical sense
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