08-09-2017, 12:19 PM
an effort to improve local air quality, the California Air Resources Board enacted the Low Emission Vehicle Program (LEV). The LEV program established several categories of emissions standards for cars and light trucks. The strictest of these categories was for the zero emission vehicle (ZEV). The LEV program requires that each of the seven major car manufacturers (Chrysler, Ford, General Motors, Honda, Mazda, Nissan and Toyota) produce and offer ZEVs on sale at a rate equivalent to 10% company has in the state, or about 110,000 cars a year. Similar mandates have also been adopted by New York and Massachusetts.
The drive for LEV is the desire to reduce air pollution. In urban areas of Southern California, vehicles account for more than 50% of the air pollution emitted. In 1995, the Southern Coastal Basin (which includes Los Angeles, Orange and parts of San Bernardino and Riverside counties) experienced 98 days in which the EPA health standard for tropospheric ozone exceeded. Ozone at ground level can cause lung pain, wheezing, coughing and headaches. Serious health problems can also arise for people with asthma, emphysema and chronic bronchitis. Children seem to be at particular risk. A study conducted in 1984 at USC showed that children raised in the South Coast Basin experienced a 10% to 15% decrease in lung function. The deleterious effects of gasoline and diesel vehicles are not limited to air quality in Southern California. In half of the world's cities, exhaust emissions are the major source of air pollution. Across the world, automobiles account for half of the oil consumed and one-fifth of the greenhouse gases emitted. This situation is not expected to improve in the near future, as the number of cars and light trucks in the world - more than 500 million euros - is expected to double in the next thirty years. Most of this growth will occur in developing countries that have little or no emissions control.
The drive for LEV is the desire to reduce air pollution. In urban areas of Southern California, vehicles account for more than 50% of the air pollution emitted. In 1995, the Southern Coastal Basin (which includes Los Angeles, Orange and parts of San Bernardino and Riverside counties) experienced 98 days in which the EPA health standard for tropospheric ozone exceeded. Ozone at ground level can cause lung pain, wheezing, coughing and headaches. Serious health problems can also arise for people with asthma, emphysema and chronic bronchitis. Children seem to be at particular risk. A study conducted in 1984 at USC showed that children raised in the South Coast Basin experienced a 10% to 15% decrease in lung function. The deleterious effects of gasoline and diesel vehicles are not limited to air quality in Southern California. In half of the world's cities, exhaust emissions are the major source of air pollution. Across the world, automobiles account for half of the oil consumed and one-fifth of the greenhouse gases emitted. This situation is not expected to improve in the near future, as the number of cars and light trucks in the world - more than 500 million euros - is expected to double in the next thirty years. Most of this growth will occur in developing countries that have little or no emissions control.