American cars and pickup trucks are responsible for nearly half of the greenhouse gases emitted by automobiles globally, even though the nation's vehicles make up just 30% of the nearly 700 million cars in use, according to a new study by Environmental Defense.
The study was designed to show for the first time the huge amount of carbon dioxide released by American cars and to stimulate passage of tougher laws and policies aimed at reducing it. The Senate last year passed a nonbinding resolution to cap emissions, but bipartisan efforts to pass a law have thus far failed.
Rep. Henry A. Waxman (D-Los Angeles) last week introduced a version that would freeze allowable levels of greenhouse gas emissions in 2010, reduce them by 2% each year through 2020, then reduce them further by 5% annually through 2050.
