California senators have been asked to ditch their sport-utility vehicles to set an example as the state tries to reduce emissions in the state. What do you think of this plan?
The great SUV debate in the United States rages on. California senators have been asked to ditch their sport-utility vehicles to set an example as the state tries to reduce emissions in the state.
The reported that California Senate committee said nearly half of its fleet of 57 senator vehicles were SUVs, but it wanted to have more environmentally-friendly vehicles. With tighter emission control laws introduced, it is believed lawmakers do not want to appear to be hypocrites.
“We need to lead by example and we will use whatever we have,” said John Waldie, the California Assembly’s chief administrative officer. “It’s time to reduce emissions in California because we have more smog than just about anywhere else.”
Waldie drives a huge Ford Expedition, but realises he has to give it up. “I like (the Expedition),” he said. “But I definitely consider myself an environmentalist.”
Lawmakers are also promoting a bill that would eliminate thousands of SUVs from California’s fleet of 73 000 state-owned vehicles.
They are proposing that state agencies and universities would only be allowed to purchase or lease SUVs for emergency use, law enforcement or security purposes. The bill would also require agencies to report the number and type of vehicles they own. “We can move the state’s fleet in a safer, healthier direction,” said bill author and Senate president John Burton.