It’s a great day when powerful people get caught doing bad things. Not bad as in being fellatio’d in the Oval Office or molesting-their-sister-while-espousing-conservative-family-values bad — more like corporate greed and deliberate-deception-of-the-public bad. Although it should be noted the exposure of hypocrisy does have its salience, there are bigger fish to broil today (not fry, ‘cause we’re trying to watch our figures).
This past week, it was announced Volkswagen faces a criminal investigation by the U.S. Department of Justice, as well as a recall of 500,000 vehicles in the U.S. alone. This came courtesy of the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency’s pursuance into the suspect case of emission irregularities between the diesel-engine cars they tested and the cars Volkswagen sold, which are now being driven on the road. As it was revealed, Volkswagen had deliberately installed software to dupe consumers (as well as the EPA) about the true level of air pollution their four-cylinder turbo diesel motors produce. In addition to class-action lawsuits, a massive mistrust between consumer and carmaker will now be hard to shake for Volkswagen, as the ruse has apparently been in effect since as early as 2009. Customers wanting to do their part in reducing emissions and contribution to smog buildup instead were unknowingly emitting between 10 to 40 times more pollutants than advertised. This sucks if you’re a Volkswagen customer or a firm believer in the auto industry’s adherence to the rules, but it’s good news for the fate of Mother Earth.
Superficially, such an incident might spell doom for the green movement in the auto industry. This is especially pronounced in the U.S., where our love for fossil fuels keeps at bay any real successful stride en masse in adapting our cars to rely on renewables. But in consideration, there lays an advantage for battery-powered and renewable-sourced cars, as CEO of Tesla Motors Elon Musk aptly noted in response to a question referencing the recent scandal and the fate of the green movement in the auto industry. "What Volkswagen is really showing," Musk noted, "is that we’ve reached the limit of what’s possible with diesel and gasoline."
That would seem to be the outright truth. Ventures such as ethanol and biodiesel, purported to be "cleaner" sources of fossil fuel, have hit a wall. Knowing this, Volkswagen’s only alternative was to lie about the efficacy of their "clean" diesel engines — as they very well couldn’t continue to market fossil fuels as capable of evolving beyond their limit. The backlash from consumers conscious of the environment will pressure Volkswagen to honestly and arduously engage in a green campaign, forcing them to seek success in the electric-car market. And while the adaptation of cars that don’t pollute will not take the country by storm overnight, this certainly is a step in the right direction. Good news for people who love to breathe.
Additionally, the EPA plans to investigate other major car manufacturers to see if they meet emission standards, and should there be a company of cheaters, it will only drive consumers to demand a truly viable clean engine, which will be met with major car manufacturers entering the electric-car market.
There is no doubt there will remain those who proudly cough smog into the atmosphere and decry such regulation by the EPA, citing the death of jobs, but this red-handed act is a promising progression for those who have acknowledged the sickly status of our planet. No longer can the lie of "cleaner" or "less dirty" be used by the auto industry or be accepted by those aspiring to be conscientious consumers. Now, the specious argument labeling the EPA as an unnecessary expense and inefficient in comparison to the nature of the free market cannot be so easily espoused by politicians who take the stage in defense of an industry that has crippled the country for far too long. Good news for people who are tired of bullshit.
Justin Ford is a Santa Fe journalism junior. His column appears on Tuesdays.
