Maine promotes 'green' vehicles
Copyright 1999, United Press International
December 1, 1999
Maine is preparing to become the first state in the nation to promote the sale of environmentally friendly vehicles.
A bill will be introduced in the Legislature in January to offer tax rebates of up to $3,000 for those who buy "green."
To help buyers sort out environmentally correct vehicles, Maine is adopting a sticker program developed by the state, car dealers and the National Resources Council.
The program calls for affixing a blue, white and green decal, labeled "Cleaner Cars for Maine," on the windows of some 65 qualifying models now on the lots of the state's 167 new car dealerships.
To be eligible for the sticker, vehicles must get at least 30 miles per gallon of gasoline or more. Their pollution emissions must conform to California regulations, the most stringent in the nation. They include up to 80 percent fewer hydrocarbon emissions and 50 percent less carbon monoxide and nitrogen oxides than conventional autos.
These standards can result in reductions of up to 470 pounds of pollution from a car driven 100,000 miles.
The 1999 models conforming range from the Chevrolet Lumina and the Honda Accord to the Pontiac Bonneville and Buick LeSabre. Excluded are the gas guzzlers, such as the popular sport utility vehicles and Maine's ever-present pickup trucks.
In introducing the sticker program, Gov. Angus King said that pollution control has focused in the past chiefly on "point sources," such as power plants. New Englanders have long criticized Midwestern plants, claiming their foul air wafts into the state, compounding its smog problems.
King said, "The truth is that most pollution comes from nonpoint sources — you and me — and one of the biggest sources is the automobile. "
Officials estimate that emissions from the tailpipes of the state's 1.1 million cars and trucks account for most of the air pollution generated within the state.
The governor has promised that as the state replaces its old vehicles it will buy cleaner ones, but it will not be retiring his Ford Explorer.
State Police have ordered King to continue to drive the sturdy sport utility vehicle in the event of a chance encounter with a moose, a distinct possibility in Maine.