Oddly enough, it is in this article from the China View, that I hear Los Angeles motorists could be slugged a “climate change mitigation and adaptation fee” under a new legislative proposal backed by the board of the Los Angeles County Metropolitan Transportation Authority (MTA).

The new legislation would allow voters to choose between paying an extra 9 cents per gallon at the gas pump (tax), or an additional $90 dollars for their vehicle registration (fee) – higher for cars, trucks and SUV’s that produce higher levels of pollutants.

The idea behind the increased revenue, which could amount up to $400 million dollars per year, is to fund programs that improve public transport and relieve traffic congestion, and to reduce greenhouse gas emissions and help fight global warming.

Although the proposed legislation has support from the MTA and environmentalists, it has met with some opposition, suggesting that the growing public concern about global warming is being exploited.

Clearly, change towards a more biofriendly and greener planet is a good thing – just not sure if this is the best way to go about it. Here is the original Los Angeles Times article. I think I would go the $90 registration fee – it’s a definitive yearly amount. Of course, how often you fill up at the pump will have an impact. With all the hype out their on global warming, sometimes I wonder if this is another avenue to squeeze the consumer for another buck. Looking after the planet is important, but let’s not leave common sense behind as we jump on the bandwagon.

The Los Angeles Auto Show started yesterday, revealing a commitment from carmakers to include a focus on the environment. Ford, General Motors, Chrysler and Honda contributed their visions for a future of biofriendly cars. 

“Ford is committed to offering customers affordable, environmentally friendly technologies in vehicles they really want,” Alan Mulally said. “We are focusing on sustainable technology solutions that can be used not for hundreds or thousands of cars – but for millions of cars, because that is how Ford can truly make a difference.” 

This AFP article details the direction the carmakers will take to introduce environmentally friendly changes to their cars over the short, medium and long term. While Ford, General Motors and Chrysler are looking to further develop Hybrid technology for cars, big trucks and SUV’s, Honda is putting it’s efforts into hydrogen fuel cell technology. 

“The FCX Clarity is a shining symbol of the progress we’ve made with fuel cell vehicles and of our belief in the promise of this technology,” said Tetsuo Iwamura, American Honda Chief Executive. “We are working to overcome obstacles to the mass-market potential of zero emissions hydrogen fuel cell automobiles,”

Hopefully, with carmakers now making biofriendly technology a priority, consumers will now have a greater range of green vehicles to choose from and at a price that won’t steer them away from the green movement.

According to this Malaysia Sun article, a study was conducted which compared the benefits and costs of three alternatives to the standard internal combustion engine powered by gasoline.   The alternatives studied were the hybrid technology that combines gasoline and electricity, advanced diesel technology and E85 (a fuel which is made from 15% gasoline and 85% ethanol).  The study also included a large pick-up truck, a mid-sized SUV and a mid-sized car, all of which were gasoline-powered.  

The study took into account the benefits for the environment and society in general, and cost-benefit for the individual over the life of the vehicle. 

The article doesn’t give any figures from the study; however, it was the advanced diesel technology that came out on top. 

“Advanced diesel and hybrid technologies show very well in this study, in terms of benefits to the individual and society overall,” said John Graham, senior author of the research paper.  “E85 simply doesn’t provide the same benefits;” he added. 

“While it is assumed that the hybrid vehicle will save more fuel than the advanced diesel, the overall advantage goes to the diesel because of its lower technology costs and better performance such as increased torque,” said Mr. Graham.  “For E85, it is the cost of producing the fuel, not vehicular changes, that drives the negative results,” he adds. 

Well, the test comes out with something different to what I would have expected, but there you have it.  Diesel came out the winner followed closely by the hybrid, and pulling up the rear is gasoline-powered vehicles and the E85 fuel.  I guess the results are a bit arbitrary based on priorities; some people just don’t appreciate the torque-factor.  With a little Green Plus though, you can get a much cleaner burn – that helps the environment and your hip pocket.