Greenhouse gas and nitrogen oxide are an invisible threat that comes with every purchase of gas at the pump. Cambridge, Mass., has a climate change and public health warning label at all gas pumps — and Senate Bill 506 and House Bill 1277 now in the state Legislature would do the same in Hawaii. (Statements about these bills by state Sen. Mike Gabbard and state Rep.Lisa Marten are at 808ne.ws/climatelabel.)

Katherine McKenzie of the Hawaii Natural Energy Institute argues that an acceleration of electric vehicle (EV) adoption with power supplied by an increasingly renewable energy grid, is needed to help ensure Hawaii becomes carbon neutral by 2045. To better ensure that Hawaii’s people understand there is a pressing need for them to adopt EV technology and other low carbon transportation choices, we maintain that oil companies should at the point of sale of gas, be forced to disclose the climate and health effects from burning gasoline and diesel.

A gas pump climate-health warning label would be the best time and place for all Hawaii residents to learn about the harms produced when they consume gas. This is because most people have a poor understanding of the public health effects from gasoline consumption, particularly diesel fuels.

Moreover, the public health language on the label, “burning gasoline, diesel, and ethanol has major consequences on human health,” is likely to produce the greatest level of concern about the problem of gas burning from individual purchasers of gas. And it is this public feeling of concern that can lead to greater shifts in attitudes.

Putting aside mediocre public knowledge about the harmful effects from gas combustion, there is good news. Most people would agree climate change is a serious threat, not to mention that most people think the government should impose greater regulations on the fossil fuel industry. This consensus of agreement is how the labels can help galvanize a broader mobilization away from gasoline and toward cleaner alternatives.

Labels are certainly not a silver bullet, but are useful in apathetic social and political environments, where cutting emissions among majorities of people is not their highest, everyday priority. Climate-health information labels alert people each time they fill up, reminding them that others agree that the dangerous effects produced from gas burning is a serious concern.

When people see — by the presence of the labels — that others are concerned about these issues too, this feeling can create appropriately negative perceptions about gas. Labels educating consumers that gas burning is unhealthy and contributes to climate change research has shown, and can translate to, lasting preferences for transport modes that produce less greenhouse gas and other pollutants — such as EVs running on solar and wind power.

Sure, when people see the label, and are in their current vehicle, they’ll still need to buy the gas. But the presence of the label, versus gas pumps without them, has now given drivers the much-needed impetus to consider other options to continuous gas consumption. Putting it in another way: Climate-health warning labels are asking each of us to lower our emissions now. That’s something the scientists are telling us we need to do, and something we in reality have the power to do, even with the cars we currently drive.

James Brooks chairs the Kapaau-based nonprofit, thinkbeyondthepump.org.