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Now *These* Clunkers Need To Be Scrapped...

Since clunker-mania doesn't seem to have died down just yet, here's a slightly different take on the whole ordeal. Adam Stein points out an alternate cash-for-clunkers program going on around the country that actually has very significant environmental benefits. But it has nothing to do with SUVs or pickup trucks:

[A]ll across the country, states are offering rebates to residents who trade their ancient refrigerators in for more energy-efficient models. Fridges are often the most energy-hogging appliances in your house, and new Energy Star models are vastly more efficient than ones from a decade ago. The rebate programs ease load on the electrical grid, and, in the case of really old fridges, help to clean up ozone-destroying CFCs. In a nice touch, about 95% of the material in the old fridges can be recycled.