Henry Ford told buyers they could get a Model T in “any color as long as it’s black.” Californians may soon find that black is banned.
California’s Air Resources Board (CARB) conducted a public workshop this month, outlining their plan to regulate the color of cars. CARB’s website explains:
In 2006, California adopted the California Global Warming Solutions Act, also known as AB 32. This law created a comprehensive, long term plan for California to reduce greenhouse gas emissions to 1990 levels by 2020. Cool Paints was identified as an Early Action strategy, to be in place no later than January 1, 2010. This strategy is based on measures to reduce the solar heat gain in a vehicle parked in the sun. A cooler interior would make drivers less likely to activate the air conditioner, which increases carbon dioxide emissions.
There should be outcry, for two reasons:
- Black is a highly-popular car color, second only to white, according to the 2008 DuPont Automotive Color Popularity Report, and
- Regulating the color of cars—or anything else—is the mark of an overly-intrusive government and a lessening of our freedoms.
Teabags are quickly becoming the symbol of too much taxing and spending. Perhaps paintbrushes will become the symbol of a government that intrudes too much.
