KEY POINTS:
As if skyrocketing petrol prices weren't already hurting them enough, the drivers of America's fleet of Hummers, monster trucks, and gas-guzzling 4WDs are about to suffer sustained public humiliation, courtesy of the green lobby.
California has announced plans for all new vehicles to carry "global warming" stickers next to their number plates, giving car owners - and their fellow motorists - an instant assessment of their carbon footprint.
Under the scheme, which became law this week, a "global warming score" and "smog score" of between one and 10 will appear on green information labels. The higher each score, the more environmentally friendly the car.
In the short term, authorities hope to help consumers choose vehicles with low carbon footprints. In the longer term, it is designed to turn 4WD driving into a social taboo on a par with smoking cigarettes.
"This label will arm consumers with the information they need to choose a vehicle that saves gas, reduces greenhouse gas emissions and helps fight smog all at once," said Mary Nichols, chairwoman of the California Air Resources Board. "Consumer choice is an especially powerful tool in our fight against climate change."
Green stickers are expected to start appearing his month. New York's own version of the scheme begins in 2010.
Whether the stickers work or not, Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger's commitment to reduce vehicle emissions by 30 per cent in the next eight years is being helped by rising petrol prices leading to an unprecedented drop in road use and a collapse in the market for bigger cars.
Right-wing commentators, who call the most popular hybrid vehicle the "Toyota Pious", call the scheme illiberal and say it will add more bureaucracy to the state's already bloated vehicle licensing authority.
- INDEPENDENT
