What color is your car?

From the Waste News daily e-mail:

EPA SmartWay campaign to simplify green car shopping

July 3 -- The U.S. EPA is launching its SmartWay Leaf Campaign that will certify cars and trucks to help consumers identify models that are fuel efficient and emit relatively low levels of pollution and greenhouse gases.

The national campaign features television, radio and print public service announcements that will help consumers recognize the SmartWay leaf as a symbol of cleaner and more fuel-efficient transportation choices, according to the EPA.

The campaign encourages consumers to look for the EPA SmartWay certification mark on cars and trucks when shopping for a new or used vehicle. About 20 percent of all vehicles -- covering a wide variety of makes and models -- qualify to be SmartWay-certified.

SmartWay-certified vehicles are the best environmental performers, as measured by a combination of their emission levels of greenhouse gases, hydrocarbons, nitrous oxides and other pollutants.

If every light-duty vehicle in the country were SmartWay-certified, carbon dioxide emissions would decrease by 214 billion pounds annually, according to the EPA. That´s equivalent to the emissions from nearly 20 million vehicles each year.

Additional information about the SmartWay program is available online at www.epa.gov/smartway.