As you know Mr. Chairman, and as I said at the hearing on powerplant emissions last week, every day we learn more about the linkage between polluted air and diseases such as asthma and lung cancer. The damage to the environment from air pollution regardless of the source should concern us all.
I applaud your desire to better understand and address the impacts that the transportation sector has on human health and the environment. I am particularly appreciative that you are looking at all sources of air pollution rather than only a single component of the problem.
With that in mind Mr. Chairman, I hope you will look broadly within the transportation sector to ensure that all new vehicles help contribute to cleaning our air.
In particular, I hope you will consider the impacts of off-road vehicles on air quality. Off-road vehicles represent an important component of American recreation but they should not get a free pass on air pollution. It is unfair to regulate the efficiency and emissions of passenger vehicles but allow off-road vehicles to pump pollutants into the air unchecked.
Mr. Chairman, I am particularly concerned about the impact that snowmobiles have had at Yellowstone National Park. Yellowstone Park has been out of compliance with the Clean Air Act at times because of emissions from snowmobiles. It is unbelievable to me that this amazing symbol of the American park system cannot meet the standards of our environmental laws due to emissions from snowmobiles.
I have ridden snowmobiles in the Lake Tahoe basin. Riding snowmobiles is fun. However, nobody wants to degrade the environment they are busy enjoying by operating an inefficient machine.
Mr. Chairman, I hope we can take a careful look at entire transportation sector and evaluate where our laws are adequate and how they might be modified to protect the environment in a more efficient, effective, and equitable manner.