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 he Green Guide
to Cars and Trucks ranks cars and trucks according to environmental
friendliness. Using this path breaking consumer guide, buyers
can compare cars, vans, pickups, and sport utility vehicles by
their environmental impacts, including air pollution, global
warming, and fuel efficiency.
 Many considerations go into
buying a new car or light truck. You'll consider price, styling,
comfort, performance, safety, reliability, and of course, how
well the vehicle will serve your needs. The decision comes down
to cost vs. value: how much you are willing to pay for the features
you want to get.
But the costs of car use go
beyond what's on the sticker and what you'll spend on fuel and
repairs. There are hidden but very real environmental costs,
due to adverse health impacts of air pollution, oil spills and
fouling of water supplies, damage to habitats and the growing
risks of climate disruption. If you care about the future of
our environment, then what you value goes beyond performance,
styling and the options packages featured in the showroom.
Cleaning up cars and trucks
is one of the most important steps we need to take to protect
the environment. Healthier air is particularly important for
vulnerable populations: children, the elderly, people at risk
for respiratory problems in fact, every one of us who want to
enjoy our great outdoors when we exercise or when we just walk
down the street.
Choosing vehicles that are
more fuel-efficient, as well as less polluting, is among the
important steps we can take to help curb global warming. The
cars and trucks in the United State comprise one of the largest
sources of climate change-contributing greenhouse gas emissions.
In fact, U.S. cars and light trucks alone emit more carbon dioxide
than the total energy-related CO2 emissions of all but three
other countries in the world.
Consumers have an important
role to play in the transition to cleaner vehicles. The Green
Guide to Cars and Trucks rates vehicles by vehicle class,
from two-seaters up to large cars as well as minivans, pickup
trucks and sport utility vehicles. For each entry, they list
the city and highway fuel economy ratings, estimates of the annual
fuel costs, health-damaging pollution impacts and tone of greenhouse
gas emissions. They also consolidate all the information into
an overall "Green Score" and a ranking showing how
a vehicle compares relative to others in its size class.
The Green Guide also
includes several useful tables including "12 Greenest of
1999," "12 worst vehicles for the environment in 1999,"
and "Practical Picks." Practical picks features gasoline
vehicles that score well with lower emissions and better than
average fuel economy.
The 12 Greenest list is dominated
by electric cars, the 12 worst by sport utility vehicles. Electric
vehicles generate 80 percent less greenhouse gas emissions and
use one-fourth the amount of energy, compared to conventional
gasoline-powered vehicles. Because gasoline vehicles are unlikely
to compete for best environmental performance until significant
technology-based efficiency improvements are made, the "Practical
Picks" list is provided for consumers unable to switch to
alternative fuels at this time.
The Green Guide to Cars and
Trucks will help you choose a greener (cleaner and more fuel-efficient)
vehicle, one that minimizes harm to the environment while meeting
your transportation needs.
Even if you're not in the
market for a new car, I can still recommend this Guide
if you're interested in the quickly learning the basics of air
pollution, climate change and greenhouse gas emissions. It's
one of the best basic primers on all the various impacts of automobiles
on the environment, how the industry is addressing much needed
change and how consumers can help. 
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