New Fuel Standards for U.S. Autos Not a Hit in the 'Green' Room
But, as with so many things, the devil is in the details. Environmentalists and consumer groups, for two, are generally not impressed with the new standards. Indeed, "weak" seems to neatly sum up their overall assessment. The National Environmental Trust warns that, though the new rule sets slightly higher standards for light trucks (i.e. minivans and similar vehicles) to meet by 2011 (an increase from 22.2 mpg to 24.1 mpg), it also would nullify rules already in place in 11 individual states imposing even stronger standards. The National Resources Defense Council questioned how much the new standards would really decrease America's "addiction to oil," calling the new standards "anemic" and saying they amount to no more than "baby steps at a time when the country needs bold action." The U.S. Public Interest Research Group (U.S. PIRG) had a similar reaction, saying the new rule "installs a mere speed bump on the dead end road of oil addiction," according to an article from the Environment News Service (ENS). The ENS article reports on Transportation Secretary Norman Mineta's announcement Wednesday, offers reaction from the Alliance of Automakers (who don't seem too put off by the changes), and mentions the environmental and consumer concerns at the end. Bill Clinton recently singled out climate change as "the only thing that...has the power to fundamentally end the march of civilization as we know it and make a lot of the other efforts we're making irrelevant and impossible." (See his comments on this Web cast--skip forward to about the 2:00 minute mark.) OneWorld's UK center has made climate justice a primary focus of their work. For more background and info on the issue, check out their climate justice section and to get more involved today, head over to their Carbon Countdown Megablog. |
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