How much will my Taxi be

As Mayor Bloomberg knows, these issues are contributing to climate change and has described the issue as "one of the most pressing challenges of our time".

" By 2030, it has committed itself to reducing the city's green house gas emissions by 30 per cent. One part of his plans should be to prescribe better biofuel efficiencies for cabs - and what better timing to discuss it than today, Earth Day, as the Lord Mayor officially presents his draft for a more green town.

Twelve 779 cabs are on the roads of New York. Of these, ninety-two per cent are the Ford Crown Victoria, which the United States Environmental Protection Agency estimated gets 18 leagues per gal. Due to the volume of transport, the real distance travelled on the roads of New York City is about 30 per cent lower.

There is a huge ecological footprint to the taxi business. New York's taxi industry produces more than 100,000 lbs of CO2 annually, according to the CO2 calculated by the Environment Protection Agency. Our entire flotilla is emitting almost 580,000 tonnes. Everybody knows that CO2 is an important contribution to global warming.

These melts will result in a significant increase in ocean-level. Bloomberg is at the forefront of tackling global warming and should remain the nation's leader on the subject. Schwarzenegger from California to work together on the reduction of green house gas emission. In California, the government recently passed a bill to cut 25 per cent of California's emission level.

Bloomberg has also reached an understanding with more than 450 other major leaders to help alleviate the effects of environmental degradation, and next week the capital will be hosting a conference in which major leaders from more than 30 of the world's major towns will take part. Measuring the city's GHG emission is the first stage.

Secondly, they need to be reduced. Mr Bloomberg has taken the first steps. According to the survey he presented this past month, New York City's total GHG emission in 2005 was 58 million tonnes. Today, the Lord Mayor prepares the town for the second step: the reduction of emission. Demanding better taxis' biofuel efficiencies would be an easy way to reach the city's targets.

Six hybrids have been rated by the Taxi and Limousine Commission with an annual mean distance of 39 mph. It would quickly reduce the fleet's GHGs. After three years, the town demands that most taxi drivers retire. Had an improvement in the number of kilometres prescribed today, more than 90 per cent of taxi drivers would be upgrading years before the mayor's target of 2030.

The recent tariff rises for taxis have led to a wind drop for medal holders. The value of the Medaillons has increased by more than $100,000 since the 2004 rise and driver income has increased by 37 per cent. The aim of the taxi fair at the motor show was to re-invent the New York taxi system.

But Mayor Bloomberg knows that New York, a particularly susceptible urban center to the rise of ocean level, cannot allow itself to disregard the realities of global warming. Today's mandate can help reduce the fleet's consumption by twice and cut its emission by half. 100 years on the streets, it's finally season to turn New York City's cabs upside down.