California adopts new vehicle window regulations

In a bid to increase vehicle fuel efficiency and reduce global warming pollution, California regulators Thursday adopted new regulations requiring new cars sold in the state from 2012 on to have windows that reflect or absorb heat-producing rays from the sun.

The reflective windows will keep cars cooler, cutting the need for air conditioning, which cuts down fuel efficiency, the state Air Resources Board said. The new requirement will prevent about 700,000 metric tons of carbon dioxide from entering the atmosphere by 2020, the equivalent of taking 140,000 cars off the road for a year, the agency said, according to a June 26 Nasdaq report.

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