Thursday, May 10, 2007

The cheapest gallon of gasoline...

...is the gallon you don’t buy. 



On Tuesday the Senate Committee on Commerce, Science and Transportation approved a bill that would require the average fuel efficiency vehicles sold in the US to be at least 35 miles per gallon by 2020, and to increase at least 4 percent per year until 2030.  The current standard is 27.5 mpg, and it hasn’t changed since 1990. 



Trent_lott



Not surprisingly, there are a number of dunderheads in the Senate who think this is a bad idea.  One such dunderhead is Trent Lott, who thinks the bill is unfair because it dictates a percentage increase in efficiency “without considering what has already been achieved.”  Perhaps the achievement he’s talking about is the record number of bad-air days we experienced this past winter in Utah.  We had 28 days where the air outside was unhealthy for humans.  We would have had more but the Division of Air Quality stopped counting on March 1.   



Or maybe Mr. Lott is talking about the dubious achievement of 11 days last summer when the ground level ozone levels were so high that outdoor exercise was discouraged.



Tubes



Another dunderhead in the senate who opposes the bill is Senator Ted Stevens of Alaska. He thinks the bill mistreats owners of light trucks (read: SUVs) that many Alaskans depend on.  Hmm…Alaska?  Isn’t there a big oil field up there Mr. Stevens wants to drill?  We could save 53 times more oil every day by passing this bill than we could get from ANWR. 



See_my_calculations_here.



I know a lot of Hooptedoodle readers are cyclists.  I know the rest of you breathe air too.  And I know everyone complains about the bad air every winter and early spring when we cyclists want to start riding outside.  I know it takes a few minutes of your time that you’d rather spend reading [somebody else’s] insightful blog.  But do one favor for me.  Do something for yourself.  For the love of all things pure and holy, do it for the children.  Call your senator and tell him to support this bill when it comes before the full senate next month.  You can find his or her number here



1 comment:

  1. The supreme court ruling on EPA regulation of Greenhouse gases may also help push the drive for better efficiency.

    ReplyDelete