Supporters of the Illinois Clean Cars Act turned out yesterday for a rally in downtown Chicago backing the bill. The Environmental Law & Policy Center is a key sponsor of Clean Cars Illinois, the grassroots campaign advocating for the legislation. House Bill 3424 would save $8.4 billion in the cost of gas, resulting in increased spending in Illinois and over 90,000 new jobs. The legislation would require the state to adopt the same clean-car standards in place in California, which would reduce emissions here. Fuel-efficient vehicles also would improve air quality and public health, including asthma and allergies. Learn more about the clean car legislation in Breathing Free in Illinois [pdf file] a report published recently by ELPC. Read more about the rally in coverage from the Chicago Tribune.
Illinois is moving to adopt tough new standards to reduce pollution, benefiting the region’s health and reducing global warming pollution-while also improving the area’s economy.
How will clean car legislation benefit Illinois? Listen to this interview with Joe Shacter, senior policy advocate at the Environmental Law & Policy Center.
Read ELPC’s report explaining the public health and the environmental benefits of bringing Clean Cars legislation to Illinois. Download the report here [pdf file].
Illinois and other Midwest states are moving to adopt tough new standards to reduce pollution, benefiting the region’s health and reducing global warming pollution-while also improving the area’s economy. Illinois has the opportunity to lead the Midwest in ensuring all new passenger cars and light-duty trucks will emit lower levels of global warming and other air pollutants while improving public health, and saving Illinois consumers money at the pump. ELPC is part of a coalition of groups fighting to win adoption of standards requiring auto manufacturers to build cleaner cars.
Joe Shacter is taking a leadrole in ELPC’s work on clean cars. “The clean car initiative is very simple,” Joe says. “It is the question of Illinois adopting California’s vehicle emission standards. States can either adopt the California program or stick with the federal standards. California’s program is significantly more strict, and has been adopted by over 40 percent of the new car market.” The clean car program would regulate many types of pollution, but it is the first that would regulate the carbon dioxide from vehicles that causes global warming pollution.
Learn more about CleanCarsIllinois in this brief video interview with Joe:
ELPC and a coalition of environmental groups released a new statewide poll showing that a remarkable 89% of people surveyed said they support or strongly support the idea of paying $1,000 more for a new car at the time of purchase if they can recoup those costs in gas savings within two years. The poll comes just days before an expected crucial vote in the Illinois House of Representatives on House Bill 3424, which would require Illinois to adopt the Clean Car Standards already in effect in 14 other states nationwide. Read the press release.
And to top it all off, a recent report highlighted that even if you want to buy a highly fuel efficient vehicle, like a hybrid, you can’t even find one! Why? Because they are going to the 14 other states that have Clean Cars legislation. Read the NBC5 report.
It’s time for Illinois to join the other 14 states and lead the Midwest by adopting the Clean Cars standard. The Illinois Clean Cars Act, HB 3424, requires auto manufacturers to build cleaner, less polluting cars. And with less pollution, there is more fuel efficiency, which saves you money at the pump.
With less gas to purchase, Illinoisans can spend an estimated $1.2 billion in savings on goods and services made right here in Illinois instead of fueling the economies of other states, countries, and continents.
Consumers need a choice of cleaner, more efficient vehicles to drive the economy of Illinois. Write your legislator today and tell them to support the Illinois Clean Cars Act.
