New York Times Editorial - Foolishness on fuel
New York Times Editorial - Foolishness on fuel
Copyrigth by The New York Times
THURSDAY, MAY 4, 2006
Americans could be forgiven for thinking that the outcry over gasoline prices has finally persuaded Congress and President George W. Bush to rethink their opposition to making meaningful improvements in fuel economy standards, largely unchanged for 20 years.
Under present law, the passenger cars produced each year by an automaker must average 27.5 miles a gallon. Bush wants to replace that easily understood standard with a more complex system under which vehicles would be divided into categories and assigned mileage standards based on size - but with no firm fleetwide target.
Representative Sherwood Boehlert, a Republican from upstate New York, has suggested a simpler, more transparent approach. While building some flexibility into the system, he would abolish the distinction between SUVs and ordinary passenger vehicles and require a fleetwide average of 33 miles per gallon. This, he estimates, would save about 2.6 million barrels of oil a day by 2025, nearly a third of the current consumption for cars and light trucks.
If that sounds radically ambitious, consider this bit of history: In 1990, two senators proposed raising fuel economy standards to 40 miles a gallon over 10 years. Had their proposal passed, Americans would probably be consuming half the gasoline they use now and be in better shape to deal with today's price squeeze. There's still time to prepare for the next one.
Copyrigth by The New York Times
THURSDAY, MAY 4, 2006
Americans could be forgiven for thinking that the outcry over gasoline prices has finally persuaded Congress and President George W. Bush to rethink their opposition to making meaningful improvements in fuel economy standards, largely unchanged for 20 years.
Under present law, the passenger cars produced each year by an automaker must average 27.5 miles a gallon. Bush wants to replace that easily understood standard with a more complex system under which vehicles would be divided into categories and assigned mileage standards based on size - but with no firm fleetwide target.
Representative Sherwood Boehlert, a Republican from upstate New York, has suggested a simpler, more transparent approach. While building some flexibility into the system, he would abolish the distinction between SUVs and ordinary passenger vehicles and require a fleetwide average of 33 miles per gallon. This, he estimates, would save about 2.6 million barrels of oil a day by 2025, nearly a third of the current consumption for cars and light trucks.
If that sounds radically ambitious, consider this bit of history: In 1990, two senators proposed raising fuel economy standards to 40 miles a gallon over 10 years. Had their proposal passed, Americans would probably be consuming half the gasoline they use now and be in better shape to deal with today's price squeeze. There's still time to prepare for the next one.
posted by Carlos T Mock at 9:06 AM
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