Assemblyman / West Orange Mayor John McKeon Test Drives A Low Emission Hybrid-Electric Car With NJPIRG
As the new home of NJPIRG's environmental work, Environment New Jersey can be contacted regarding this news release.
WEST ORANGE—Assemblyman
and West Orange Mayor John McKeon (D-27) took a low emission spin
through Eagle Rock Reservation yesterday, as a part of a Clean Car
Campaign coordinated by the New Jersey Public Interest Research Group.
The campaign seeks to tackle New Jersey's air quality problem by
reducing emissions from passenger cars and light trucks, one of the
largest pollution sources in the state.
Assemblyman McKeon
tried out a Toyota Prius, a new type of car that operates on electric
and gasoline power. Moving completely on electric power at low speeds,
the hybrid car emits 90% less pollution than an average new car, while
getting up to 52 miles per gallon.
“Getting more of these
cars on the roads will improve air quality and public health in New
Jersey, especially in our urban areas where asthma affects so many
youngsters,” said Assemblyman McKeon as he drove past an overlook of
the Manhattan skyline.
The Clean Car Campaign aims to protect
public health by encouraging New Jersey to join New York, California,
Massachusetts, and Vermont in adopting tough emission standards for new
cars and trucks, while accelerating the introduction of low or zero
emission hybrid, electric, and fuel cell cars. Support for the campaign
comes from a variety of public health and citizen’s groups, including
the American Lung Association, the New Jersey Public Health Association
and the Allergy and Asthma Network / Mothers of Asthmatics.
“To put New Jersey on a road to cleaner air, we have to make sure that
automakers sell cars which pollute as little as possible,” said Michael
Calvin of the American Lung Association of New Jersey. “Across the
Hudson, New York has already taken this key step to protect the health
of its residents. We should do the same.”
Travis Madsen,
Clean Air Policy Associate for NJPIRG, noted that New Jersey has made
no progress in reducing smog levels since 1994, especially worrisome in
light of new evidence from the California EPA that smog can actually cause asthma in children.
“While we made some progress in making cars cleaner in the last 30
years, the amount we drove every year grew three times faster than our
population,” said Madsen. “Not surprisingly, pollution from mobile
sources, including cars and trucks, remains responsible for one-third
of our smog and 80 percent of the cancer risk we face from breathing
outdoors.”
Madsen noted that the air in Essex County ranks as
the 13th dirtiest in the country in terms of lifetime cancer risk from
hazardous air pollutants, exceeding 1800 per million. Living in areas
like Essex is about as dangerous as living with a smoker, according to
a study released this month by scientists at New York University. The
danger stems from chemicals like diesel soot, benzene, and
formaldehyde, which come primarily from vehicles.
After the
meeting, Assemblyman McKeon announced his support for reducing
pollution from New Jersey’s cars and trucks, joining 45 other State
Assembly members as a cosponsor of clean car legislation. “This
legislation puts New Jersey at the forefront in the national effort to
improve air quality, where the Garden State should be,” he said.
The bill would bring the Low Emission Vehicle Phase II program to New
Jersey beginning in 2006, requiring the introduction of more advanced
technology vehicles like the Toyota Prius or the Hybrid Honda Civic to
the state, as well as introducing tighter emissions standards for
normal cars. It was introduced last year by Senator John Bennett and
Assemblyman Tom Kean Jr., and endorsed by Governor McGreevey during his
election campaign.
“This will greatly improve our air
quality,” said Jim Curry of the New Jersey Environmental Lobby. “Also,
the advanced technology it promotes could provide fuel for New Jersey’s
economy in the coming decades, all while conserving natural resources
and protecting public health.”
The bill will pave the way for
cars of the future that will produce practically no pollution, running
on inherently clean fuels like hydrogen and battery power.
Nearly 21,000 Prius cars are on the road in America today, and
thousands of customers have signed up on a wait list to purchase one.
Other hybrids, including a hybrid Honda Civic and a hybrid Ford Escape,
will enter the market by the end of the year. If the bill becomes law,
NJPIRG expects these types of technologies to become much more readily
available for consumers in New Jersey, achieving greater and greater
progress in reducing air pollution each year.
Assemblyman
McKeon’s test drive in West Orange was the most recent stop for
NJPIRG’s statewide Clean Car Tour. “The aim of the tour is to reach a
wide range of civic leaders and put them in the driver’s seat of a
clean car future,” concluded Madsen.
