Triggering Asthma Attacks and Worse
• According to the American Lung Association, thousands of Connecticut’s kids are rushed to the emergency room because of asthma attacks each year. Smog can trigger asthma attacks in the 86,000 children in the state with asthma.

• Smog is suspected as a cause of asthma, helping contribute to the more than 50 percent rise in asthma incidence in Connecticut since 1994.

• Children, the elderly and those with heart and respiratory disease are the most vulnerable to smog pollution. However, even healthy adults can experience difficulty breathing when smog levels are high.

According to the EPA, all of Connecticut experiences unhealthy levels of smog during the summer months. On "smog days," residents are exposed to unhealthy, dangerous levels of smog pollution. Although every part of the state experiences smog days, the communities with the most smog days recorded in 2002 were Westport, Stratford and Madison.

Benzene in the air
According to the latest data available, residents of each county in Connecticut are breathing air that contains toxic benzene at concentrations that exceed the EPA’s acceptable cancer risk.

Source: U.S. EPA

How Much Do Cars Contribute to Air Pollution?
Cars and trucks are the largest source of smog and other air pollution in Connecticut. As the number of miles driven on our roads increases, air quality worsens.

• Between 1991 and 2000, the number of vehicle miles traveled in Connecticut rose 16 percent to almost 31 billion miles.

• The number of miles traveled on the roads in the state is projected to rise another 12 percent by 2010 and 27 percent by 2025.

• Increasing numbers of cars and trucks on Connecticut’s roads will result in higher tailpipe emissions and worsening air quality.

Number of days Connecticut residents exposed to unhealthy amounts of smog:

The Clean Cars Bill
Gas-electric hybrid cars like the Toyota Prius and Honda Civic Hybrid produce far less pollution than their gasoline-only counterparts. Ford will begin selling a hybrid version of its Escape SUV in late 2003. This cleaner SUV is expected to get 35 to 40 miles to the gallon and reduce emissions compared to conventional SUVs. Getting more clean cars, such as these, on Connecticut’s roads is the best way to clean our air and protect our health.

That is why ConnPIRG is asking the Legislature to pass the Clean Cars Bill this year. The Clean Cars Bill would:

• Clean Connecticut’s air by enacting the strongest tailpipe emissions standards allowed under federal law. These same standards are already in place in states such as New York and Massachusetts.

• Require auto makers to continue putting ultra-clean gasoline and hybrid-electric cars and trucks onto Connecticut’s roads.

• Encourage manufacturers to continue research into zero-emission, non-polluting technologies such as fuel-cells to get cars using those technologies onto Connecticut’s roads in the future.

Connecticut Can Continue to Clean the Air
The two largest sources of air pollution in Connecticut are automobiles and power plants. In 2002, former Governor Rowland signed a bill into law that cleans up the state’s aging "sooty six" power plants. The law requires these plants to meet modern emissions standards to protect the health of the state’s residents.

Other states such as New York and Massachusetts have taken the next step of addressing the pollution from automobiles. Connecticut should join our neighbors in requiring the sale of low- and zero-emission vehicles.

Overcoming the Auto Lobby
Auto makers are dragging their feet on producing cleaner cars and trucks. They have fought Clean Cars legislation in other states and have even sued to try and stop it from going into effect. In spite of the industry’s opposition, other states have enacted the Clean Cars law and are getting cleaner cars and trucks on their roads today. This year, our legislators have an opportunity to take the same action for clean air here in Connecticut.

Even though they don’t have manufacturing plants in our state, the auto industry has hired some of Hartford’s top lobbyists to fight the Clean Cars bill. These lobbyists are putting tremendous pressure on legislators to convince them not to pass Clean Cars. That’s why ConnPIRG is reaching out to citizens across the state to show their support for Clean Cars. With your support, we can convince the Legislature to reject the auto industry’s special interest lobbying in favor of Clean Cars and Cleaner Air for Connecticut.

The hybrid electric Toyota Prius, above, gets an average of 48 miles per gallon, according to 2002 EPA estimates.

Clean Cars, Cleaner Air
According to the EPA, between 2000 and 2002 the number of days when Connecticut’s residents were exposed to unhealthy amounts of smog pollution rose by 177 percent. Increasing smog levels threaten the health of people with asthma, heart disease and respiratory ailments. 86,000, or 10 percent, of Connecticut’s children have asthma, compared to six percent nationally. Each year, thousands of these children are rushed to emergency rooms with asthma attacks that can be triggered by air pollution. Senior citizens exposed to high smog levels are at greater risk of heart attacks. Even healthy adults can suffer breathing difficulty from smog pollution.

In addition to smog, Connecticut’s air pollution problem includes increased levels of air-toxics such as benzene and other cancer-causing toxics. Benzene exposure causes leukemia, anemia and damages the immune system. Across the state, residents are exposed to levels of benzene that are 6 to 11 times the EPA’s standard for acceptable cancer risk. Vehicles account for over 90 percent of benzene emissions in Connecticut.

Cars and trucks traveling Connecticut’s roads are the source of the majority of smog-forming air pollution in our state. From 1991 to 2000 the number of miles driven on Connecticut’s roads jumped 16 percent to almost 31 billion. In just the last three years, the number of days when the state’s residents are exposed to unhealthy amounts of smog pollution rose by 177 percent.

Getting cleaner cars on the road is a major part of the solution to our air pollution problem. That’s why ConnPIRG is working to convince the Legislature to pass the Clean Cars Bill to reduce tailpipe emissions from cars and trucks, get more ultra-clean gas and hybrid electric vehicles on the road and increase development of zero-emission vehicle technology such as fuel-cells. The Clean Cars Bill will dramatically reduce pollution from cars and trucks, cleaning our air and protecting our health.