Requiring cars to be more fuel-efficient spurs innovation, reduces oil dependence and cuts global warming pollution.
NRDC's work on fuel economy is featured in the 2008 edition of 50 Simple Things.
Requiring cars to be more fuel-efficient spurs innovation, reduces oil dependence and cuts global warming pollution.
It used to be that horsepower, cup holders and a moon roof were enough to hook consumers when they walked into a car dealer's showroom. But with gas prices on the rise, and the hidden costs of oil playing out in conflicts across the globe, consumers are thinking twice about purchasing big gas-guzzlers. Higher fuel efficiency standards help speed more fuel-efficient cars to market, reduce our dependence on oil and cut global warming pollution.
Transportation consumes two-thirds of the 21 million barrels of oil used every day in the United States, accounting for nearly 18 percent of global oil consumption (an outsize figure, given that Americans account for less than 5 percent of the world's population). Transportation is also responsible for one-third of U.S. global warming pollution.
Congress Says Yes, EPA Says No
The last time Congress raised fuel economy standards it was 1975 -- President Ford was in the White House, the Vietnam War ended, Arthur Ashe won Wimbledon and Olivia Newton-John won a Grammy. The average gas mileage for American cars was 12.9 miles per gallon. The standards passed in 1975, called Corporate Average Fuel Economy (CAFÉ) standards, increased the country’s average fuel economy for cars to 27.5 miles per gallon by 1985.
In 2007, Congress broke a thirty-year stalemate on this critical energy issue, voting to raise the average CAFE standards for cars, SUVs, pickups and minivans by 10 miles per gallon to 35 mpg by 2020. But soon after Congress took that positive step, the Environmental Protection Agency made a move in the wrong direction. The EPA decided to block a California pollution law aimed at cutting global warming emissions from tailpipes, which would also have reduced oil dependency -- and produced more substantial reductions than the federal law.
California -- joined by 17 other states -- is pushing for pollution standards for new cars and light trucks that will cut global warming pollution and oil consumption by more than 40 percent, compared to the 30 percent reductions from the new federal standards. But the EPA won’t allow California to enforce its own standards, in part by hiding behind the argument that the new federal standards are good enough.
Let's Go Further
We know that legislated performance standards work. The 1975 fuel economy standard boost prompted automakers to improve car efficiency by 60 percent over 10 years. Congress' 2007 decision will pick up where we left off, and help spur innovation and the production of even better vehicles, including hybrids. But we can't stop there. To solve global warming and substantially reduce our oil dependency, we need automakers to continuously innovate cleaner, more efficient technologies.
The next step is for the EPA to grant California -- and any other state that wants it -- the right to enforce its more stringent pollution standard.
What You Can Do
It's up to individuals to make their voices heard: by car dealers, rental companies, automakers and federal and state officials.
- Tell your local dealership that you’re holding out for a higher-efficiency, cleaner emitting vehicle.
- When renting a car, avoid gas guzzlers and tell the company why you made that choice.
- Write letters to car manufacturers and legislators explaining why it's important to keep pushing for even more robust car emissions laws.