In his State of the Union address tonight, President
Bush will offer plenty of lofty goals on energy, but the devil is in the
details. With loopholes big enough to drive an SUV through, his plan fails to
guarantee that car makers will do their share to break our dependence on oil,
and could actually increase global warming pollution.
While it is heartening that the President has called for
an increase in fuel economy, he has provided no guarantee that consumers ever
see the benefits. For example, there is no guarantee that the actual miles per
gallon of the cars on the road will increase as the President has failed to call
for a specific increase in the fuel economy
standard.
President Bush to date has failed to meaningfully raise
fuel economy standards, which is the best way to reduce our dependence on
oil. Had the President increased
the fuel economy of cars and SUVs to 40 miles per gallon by 2012 when he took
office in 2001– which the National Academy of Sciences says is possible over the
next 10 years – we would have consumed 500,000 barrels of oil less per day in
2006, and saved $8.7 billion at the pump.
Perhaps the dirtiest detail is the President’s plan to
change the Renewable Fuels Standard to an Alternative Fuel Standard. This a
small change in name that could mean a big change in pollution. Alternatives
fuels could include “coal to liquids” that create double the global warming
pollution of traditional gasoline.
The United States can reduce global
warming pollution using energy efficiency and renewable energy and in so doing
also break our reliance on fossil fuels, enhance our long-term economic and
national security, and once again lead the world as a positive force for
change.
We welcome the Presidents goal of a new energy future,
but it is time for real solutions, not just more loopholes and empty
rhetoric.
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