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Emissions testing

It is important that American citizens know the facts:

• Firstly, many states do not plan to expand emissions testing programs beyond the current counties in which the emissions testing programs already exist.

• This is a problem all over the country. For example: in Logan, Utah, automobiles are not required to pass any emissions testing whatsoever—and they are, by far, not the only ones, there are also several counties in North Carolina that do not require emissions testing. This concern is actually the case in virtually every state in America. 

• Secondly, most vehicles on the roads would pass emissions tests. Some say that in North Carolina failures range from three to four percent for all vehicles that undergo emissions testing, with slightly higher rates begin to show when certain counties are added to an emissions testing program. The air conditions in different parts of the country will make a big difference as to how badly the environment is affected by poor emissions.

• For example:

If the air were tested in Utah or California or any other states with valleys surrounded by mountains, there can be, at times, ghastly pollution caught in those valleys by inversion.

• Failure rates from emissions testing can be as high as forty percent in some states. That is all the more reason why the emissions testing programs are needed all over the country.

• Lastly, automobile emissions testing programs are not needless programs Cars, trucks, vans or SUVs etc. account for over half of the poor emissions that cause drastic ozone damage. These emissions are key contributors to major air quality problems such as haze, particle pollution, acid rain and many others. Any vehicle that has malfunctioning emissions controls can possibly emit one hundred times more pollution than a vehicle with emissions controls that are properly functioning.

• Power plants and other chemical plants, i.e., emissions producing industries within a city or state should also be considered (after all, these are the other half of the problem). But the fact that these types of factories etc are terrible for the environment and the air that we breathe should not be the only focus. Emissions testing should take place upon the renewal of every vehicle that is registered. 

Many opinion polls prove that the public wants emissions testing to be done. The people want clean air and are willing to pay reasonable costs to attain it. Emissions testing programs could cost car owners around twenty dollars per year in addition to the ten dollars they already pay for safety inspections.

But realize that we are talking about the air we breathe every day, outside and even inside. No wonder another twenty bucks for emissions testing is not so bad compared to the costly health concerns that could and will result from having too much pollution in the air we have to breathe.