The Loma Prietan
July/August 2001
Higher Miles Per Gallon Standards Would Save $$
Sierra Club and the California Public Interest Research Group
(CalPIRG) released a report by the Union of Concerned Scientists (UCS)
today which showed that higher automobile miles per gallon standards
would save California consumers more than one billion dollars annually.
According to the report, Drilling in Detroit: Tapping Automaker
Ingenuity to Build Safe and Efficient Automobiles, it would be both
economically and technically feasible for automakers to meet a standard
of more than 40 miles per gallon (mpg) by 2012 and 55 mpg by 2020,
nearly a 75 percent increase compared with today’s fleet.
“Making cars go further on a gallon of gasoline is a simple solution
to halting the rising gas prices and global warming pollution that we
face here in California,” said Kurt Newick, Chair of the Sierra Club
Loma Prieta Chapter’s Global Warming and Energy Committee.
“Raising auto fuel economy standards is an essential element to a
balanced energy plan that offers quicker, cleaner, cheaper and safer
energy solutions, and we are disappointed that President Bush is not
acting immediately to raise these standards,” added Dan Kalb, Staff
Director of the Chapter.
At a time when gasoline prices are high and the science on global
warming is more compelling than ever, President Bush’s energy plan
focuses on drilling for more oil in the Arctic Wildlife Refuge and other
wildlands rather than increasing the use of energy efficient technology.
The U.S. Geological Survey predicts that there is only six months worth
of recoverable oil from the Arctic, and it would take ten years to reach
consumers. This small amount of oil would have no impact on the price of
gas, but would irreparably harm this pristine wilderness. On the other
hand, raising miles per gallon standards to 40 mpg for cars and light
trucks would save more oil than we get from Persian Gulf imports, the
Arctic Wildlife Refuge and California offshore oil drilling combined.
“Instead of drilling for new oil in public lands, we should tap
Detroit’s ingenuity to produce cars and trucks that travel 40 miles on
each gallon of gas,” said David Friedman, the lead author of the report,
and a Senior Analyst for UCS’s Clean Vehicles Program. “Using existing
technologies, automakers could build vehicles that provide relief for
consumers and the environment.”
Congress has not significantly updated fuel economy standards for
cars and light trucks since 1985. And as more Americans buy Sport
Utility Vehicles, which are currently allowed to meet lower miles per
gallon standards than cars, auto fuel efficiency has decreased seven
percent since 1987.