fuel efficiency
-
Why I’m not freaked out about the Waxman-Markey climate bill
Feeling ambivalent?Will the Waxman-Markey bill spark a full-scale energy revolution? No. Not on its own, not in the next 10-15 years. The short-term targets for reducing greenhouse gases are too low, the renewable electricity standard is too weak, too many offsets are allowed, and there’s too little investment in clean energy. To boot, there’s every […]
-
Obama’s new CAFE standards keep the pressure on Congress to act
It’s an annual rite as familiar as April showers; Americans again jumped in their cars in droves this past weekend to celebrate the unofficial start of summer. It was fitting that last week President Obama took a major step, announcing regulations that will increase fuel efficiency within a few years. With this move, Obama ensured […]
-
The Daily Show on fuel efficiency standards
Jon Stewart was brilliant as usual on Obama’s new fuel efficiency standards: [vodpod id=Video.1652252&w=425&h=350&fv=autoPlay%3Dfalse]
-
Breaking: Obama to raise new car fuel efficiency standard to 39 mpg by 2016
UPDATE: The NYT story is not entirely accurate, and, separately, sources tell me there appears to be a little confusion as to exactly what mpg standard is set for what class of vehicles (see below). UPDATE2: The numbers appear to be 39 mpg for cars, 30 mpg for light trucks (see here). For all those […]
-
Fuel economy in context
The decision of the Obama Administration to embrace stronger fuel economy standards by 2016 is drawing praise from environmentalists but fire from auto analysts who say it will add to Detroit’s woes. The decision to accelerate fuel economy comes on top of a variety of policy proposals to address climate change, the auto industry and […]
-
Chrysler opens with a Fiat at the New York Auto Show
Photo courtesy of the New York International Auto Show. How will Chrysler save itself (and maybe even the auto industry)? With a tiny blue coupe tricked out with italian-leather seats, of course. If there was any doubt about how large a role Fiat will play in Chrysler’s restructuring, Chrysler vice chairman Jim Press silenced those […]
-
Oregon’s successful mileage tax experiment worked smoothly — and helped curb congestion
Recently I’ve been flogging the concept of a mileage tax, a system of per-mile road usage fees that over time can replace our dysfunctional gasoline tax as a way of funding transportation infrastructure. Although people have raised a lot of interesting objections, I’d like for now to skip ahead and simply describe Oregon’s successful experiment […]
-
Let’s call a gas tax the ‘All-American Energy-Independence Assessment’
Whether they are called “revenue enhancements” or “user charges,” fear of the political consequences of taxes restricts debate on energy and environmental policy options in Washington. In a March 7 post on “green jobs,” in which I argued that it is not always best to try to address two challenges with a single policy instrument, […]
-
Whatever its virtues, the gas tax is nearing the end of its life
The post on the mileage tax stirred up a lot of reaction, much of it negative. As it happens, the state of Oregon recently wrapped up a successful trial of a mileage tax system, so for the next few posts I’m going to be relying heavily on an excellent final report on the system (PDF) […]