ecoresearchers

This from the “things you may not have known” files. Beginning March 2007, German cities have the option to designate environmental areas (Umweltzonen) in which only cars with the appropriate sticker: green, yellow, or red can drive. Which sticker a car qualifies for is based on a two-digit code in its registration papers. Cities are not required to designate environmental zones but many are planning to do so. The city of Munich has decided to go ahead with plans for an environmental zone beginning October 31, 2007. In related news, the Munich police have announced they will be cutting down trees at the edges of the zone to make room for banks of highly sensitive cameras to check whether cars entering have the correct sticker. The camera banks will be powered by diesel generators, whose exhaust will be pointed away from the environmental zone.