Gas-guzzling habits
Bush SUV standard falls short
by David M. Fine
While we sit on the brink of war with a nation that resides in the heart of the oil-rich Middle East, and Earth continues its trudge on the path to global climate change, the Bush administration recently mandated a puny 1.5 miles per gallon increase in light trucks and SUVs.
The 1.5 miles per gallon increase will be added to the Corporate Average Fuel Economy (CAFE) standard for light trucks and SUVs, currently at 20.5 mpg.
The CAFE standard for cars and light trucks has not changed appreciably in 16 years.
Yes, 16 years. This is laughable. America should lead the world in fuel efficiency and in reducing carbon dioxide emissions. We should set the goal high and push our technology to meet that goal with generous federal funding for research and development. In the past 16 years we have seen huge advances in computer technology — why not in automobile energy efficiency?
At a time when we need, at the very least, to freeze carbon dioxide emissions where they are, the Bush administration, lead by Vice President Dick Cheney, hammered out a pro-fossil fuel policy behind closed doors with energy industry leaders. Conservationists are not even given a hearing in the Bush administration. Big oil is running the show.
According to a report by the Aspen Institute, overall U.S. greenhouse gas emissions rose 11.7 percent between 1990 and 1999. Cars and light trucks currently are responsible for about 20 percent of these emissions.
The Bush administration's idea of good energy policy is to drill in the Alaskan National Wildlife Refuge, and to continue exploring more sources of oil. But according to the Sierra Club and the Union of Concerned Scientists, it is technologically feasible to raise the CAFE standard to 40 miles per gallon by 2012, and this would save 8 to 15 times more oil than Alaska's wildlife refuge would provide.
Sen. John Kerry, D-Mass,. attempted to pass such a hike last year, which would have raised the CAFE standard for cars to 37 miles per gallon by 2015. Unfortunately it was easily shot down in a vote of 62 to 38. America has seen some progress on reducing emissions, but only because California has taken the lead.
California has required automakers to develop low emission vehicles, and several automakers have stepped up to the plate. According to Greenercars.com, Honda, Toyota, and Nissan are selling ultra-low (ULEV) and super–ultra-low emissions (SULEV) vehicles, developed for the California market. Ford is developing a diesel ULEV, the Ford Focus, for 2007 when the California's ULEV II regulation goes into effect. But the Focus utilizes a proprietary fueling system that needs to be established at gas stations for it to work.
However, these regulations address nitrogen oxides, carbon monoxide and other pollutants — bad things to breathe, but not carbon dioxide emissions.
SUVs and light trucks are a big target for increased fuel efficiency since they account for nearly 50 percent of all autos sold in America — and they are gas guzzlers extraordinaire, some averaging only 15 miles to the gallon.
Automakers argue that to make cars more fuel efficient they must be made lighter, which will make them less safe. But organizations like the Sierra Club and the Union of Concerned Scientists point to the grumbling and complaining the auto companies engaged in when CAFE standards were first put into place in the 1970s after the oil crisis. The companies eventually produced cars that met the regulations after much kicking and screaming.
What is to be done? Congress should pass a 1-cent addition to the federal gasoline tax — call it the "Energy Conservation and Efficiency Tax." This tax would generate approximately $1 billion in revenues that should be funneled to the Department of Energy's (DOE) budget for energy efficiency research and development (R&D). DOE would work closely with private-sector companies to create viable marketable technologies.
According to a report by the American Council for an Energy Efficient Economy, investment in DOE R&D "produces outstanding returns."
America needs to wake up to the need for greater energy efficiency, for environmental and national security reasons. What will happen if the world is hit with another oil crisis? If Saudi Arabia faces internal strife? When global climate change progresses at a faster pace?
Americans adore their SUVs, but most also want to reduce pollution and protect the environment. The two are not incompatible — we simply need to put the incentives in place to increase the pace of technological innovation.
This means turning the heat on the automakers to improve fleet mileage as well as funding R&D. But it does not mean drilling in Alaska to appease our inefficient appetites.
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