Air: Green Foreigners

It was a great American moment. The Environmental Protection Agency gave an award Wednesday to three U.S.-headquartered companies for voluntarily developing and using environmentally friendlier coolers in soft-drink vending machines and other commercial refrigerators. One weird thing: None of the machines are in the United States.

Coca-Cola Co., Unilever PLC (Ben & Jerry’s parent) and McDonald’s have rolled out new equipment only in Europe and Japan. Why? For one thing, consumers there are more likely to notice and appreciate green efforts. The companies also might get credits for reducing global warming from European nations under the Kyoto Protocol -- the international accord on global warming from which the U.S. withdrew.

In the case of Atlanta-based Coke, its European bottling operations are owned by the company, making a change in equipment easier. Coke’s U.S. bottling is heavily franchised and it has no current plans to bring hydrofluorocarbon-free coolant here.

Ironically, hydrofluorocarbons were introduced during the 1990s to replace chlorofluorocarbons, or CFCs, which were depleting the ozone layer. HFCs, it turns out, contribute to global warming. Their ability to trap heat is, after all, what makes them such great refrigerants.

It’s nice that the EPA is recognizing these corporate efforts, even if they were impelled by actions overseas. As EPA spokesman John Millett pointed out, fewer HFC emissions in Europe help the environment in the U.S. too. Which leaves only the question: What’s the United States doing to return the favor?