CA votes to lower standards –> by 70%

At one time, the California Air Resources Board was plowing the way for green transportation incentives by requiring automakers to focus on zero emissions technology. In a frustrating move Thursday, they voted to lessen that obligation by 70%. It’s okay, they say, because we’ve told automakers they need to make at least 60,000 plug-in hybrids by 2014. Do they really think we don’t know that was going to happen anyway? Between the plug-in Prius and the Volt, we’ll reach that number by 2011.

From SignOnSandDiego:

Overview

Background: California adopted a landmark program in 1990 to require that
10 percent of new cars sold by the major auto companies be nonpolluting by 2003. The goal was reduced to 25,000 zero-emission vehicles in California by 2014, far below the original mandate.

What’s changing: The goal was further reduced to 7,500 such vehicles.

The future: The state will require automakers to sell nearly 60,000 plug-in hybrid vehicles in California and continue to develop technology that will allow mass production of pure zero-emission vehicles.

I’m shocked, and so disappointed. Everyone on that board had the opportunity to set standards to strive toward. The bar – at one time – may have been unreasonably high, but now it’s so unreasonably low that automakers don’t even have to raise their legs to get over it. It’s business as usual. Thankfully consumers are demanding better options.