Fuel efficiency standards for cars and light trucks got tougher in April. Those standards actually were extended into the future on Friday. Plus, better gas mileage for heavy trucks will also be enforced for the first time. President Obama ordered the government to step up fuel economy standards, and he had a group of auto and truck executives who support the regulation that were standing right behind him. The oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico is one thing that he talked about in his speech about America’s long term energy security and the national fuel economy standards.
The national fuel efficiency standards
The executive order on national fuel efficiency standards allows Obama to get the ball rolling without having to wait for Congress. Obama’s signature orders the Environmental Protection Agency and the Transportation Department to develop new fuel and emissions standards that are more strict than rules formally enacted in April. The rules from April require auto loans to buy new cars that average a minimum of 35.5 miles a gallon by 2016. The president’s new plan also orders that there are more improvements on fuel efficiency in cars and light trucks made in 2017 and beyond and in medium and heavy trucks made from 2014 through 2018. To add to that, Mr. Obama’s directive orders more federal support for the development of new vehicles, such as advanced electric cars, and it instructs the EPA to reduce emissions of other pollutants by motor vehicles .
Automakers ask for national fuel efficiency standards
Automakers want national fuel efficiency standards. A state-by-state approach has threatened them since California started trying to enforce a lot tougher fuel efficiency standards than the federal government. The New York Times reports that before the president’s initial policy a year ago, manufacturers were facing separate greenhouse-gas standards being developed by the Environmental Protection Agency under the Clean Air Act; fuel-efficiency standards developed by the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration in response to Congressional legislation; and the possibility of separate standards enacted in California and 13 other states.
Truck gas mileage to improve
Environmental groups have wanted better gas mileage standards for medium- and heavy-duty work trucks for some time. The Associated Press reports that medium and heavy trucks represent only 4 percent of all vehicles on American highways, but they consume more than 20 percent of the fuel burned on the roads, according to the Union of Concerned Scientists, an environmental advocacy organization. If trucks get 3.7 miles to the gallon more it would, by 2030, reduce American oil consumption by 11 billion gallons a year, the group said.
Better gas mileage saves
Better gas mileage standards will have a deep impact on carbon emissions as well as energy security. Reuters reports that environmental statistics show cars and trucks account for more than 60 percent of U.S. oil consumption and more than 25 percent of domestic carbon pollution. Reuters said that David Doniger, policy director for the Climate Center at the Natural Resources Defense Council, told them that better gas mileage for cars and the first-ever efficiency goals for trucks will save consumers billions of dollars in fuel costs.
More information on this topic
The New York Times reports
http://www.nytimes.com/2010/05/22/business/energy-environment/22fuel.html?partner=rss&emc=rss
The Associated Press reports
http://www.google.com/hostednews/ap/article/ALeqM5hTIfEP47jBc2oIQC8_M6IJY9uRzAD9FRA9F00
Reuters reports
http://www.reuters.com/article/idUSTRE64K4JK20100521
