Fuel Efficiency
Obama’s Clean Energy Policy Elevates Efficient Cars Over Efficient Modes
It has a nice ring to it: using oil and gas revenue to shift transportation off oil and gas dependence. President Obama announced a plan to do just that on Friday -- but the details of his plan are disappointing if you want to see the conversation on clean transportation go beyond cars.
March 18, 2013
Which States Are Breaking Free From Oil Dependence? NRDC Ranks All 50
When it comes to helping their residents get around without breaking the bank, California, Oregon, Washington, Massachusetts, and New York are the top five states in the nation, while Nebraska, Alaska, Mississippi, Idaho, and North Dakota bring up the rear.
November 19, 2012
Pitchfork-Wielding Consumers Hold Auto Industry Hostage!
It’s sad, really. Tremendous gains in vehicle fuel efficiency have been squandered, MIT’s Christopher Knittel demonstrates in a study published in the American Economic Review. Knittel’s analysis quantifies how, while automakers have applied meaningful fuel economy innovations over the past several decades, these have produced only modest gains in miles per gallon, because at the same time the companies inflated horsepower and vehicle size. As MIT’s press release put it:
January 18, 2012
After Years of Resistance, Auto Industry Agrees to New Mileage Standards
As though to prove compromise isn’t as stiff a corpse as it appears, the Obama administration announced on Friday that it had reached a key agreement with an industry proficient at stonewalling government regulation: the automakers. The deal, which meaningfully raises fuel economy standards, was something of a welcome surprise, with the industry putting aside its usual act as regulatory victim and playing the role of committed partner.
August 2, 2011
“Drill Baby Drill” Won’t Solve America’s Energy Problems
House Republicans are calling for offshore oil drilling as an answer to foreign oil dependency and high gas prices -- and they're not the only ones. President Obama recently announced his intention to cut oil imports by one-third by 2025, partly by increasing domestic production was the answer to the country's energy woes. In his speech announcing the plan, Obama barely mentioned transit and land use, even though more and more evidence points to these as real solutions for high gas prices.
April 11, 2011
Highway-Affiliated Pew Climate Report Favors “Clean” Cars Over Transit
Many transportation reformers were disappointed last week when the Pew Center on Global Climate Change released a report indicating that only clean car technology had a shot at significantly reducing greenhouse gas emissions. The report dismissed smart growth development strategies and transit as trivial contributors to a lower-carbon economy.
January 20, 2011
Auto Sales Rise Along With Gas Prices (Though Nowhere Near $5/Gallon)
You may have heard last week that a former Shell executive predicted that gas prices would reach five dollars a gallon by the end of next year. John Hofmeister is now the head of Citizens for Affordable Energy, which advocates for increased coal, gas, and oil production in the U.S. He’s also the author of a book called “Why We Hate the Oil Companies: Straight Talk from an Energy Insider.”
January 6, 2011
Final Obama Fuel-Efficiency Rule Gives Breaks to Electric, Luxury Cars
The Obama administration today released its final rule raising U.S. auto fuel-efficiency standards to an average of 35.5 miles per gallon (mpg) by 2016, winning plaudits from environmental groups while offering extra benefits to makers of electric and luxury cars.
April 1, 2010
New Report: Congress Should Boost Truck Efficiency by Raising Gas Tax
As the federal government moves forward on a mandate to set stronger fuel-efficiency rules for trucks and buses, a new report from an independent scientific body is urging lawmakers to take another approach: raise fuel taxes.
April 1, 2010