Climate of Our Future

 Climate Crisis Coalition

By Richard Simon, The Los Angeles Times, December 2, 2007. “Just a few years ago, the prospects of Congress boosting fuel-economy rules for vehicles could have been summed up by one word: unimaginable. But the unimaginable has become political necessity in an era of $3-plus-per-gallon gasoline, with Democratic leaders under pressure to deliver on their promise to pass an energy bill aimed at reducing global warming and U.S. dependence on foreign oil. A measure providing for a 40% increase in fuel efficiency for new cars and light trucks by 2020, for a fleetwide average of 35 miles per gallon, appears certain to win the support of majorities in the House and Senate, especially with Rep. John D. Dingell (D-Mich.), perhaps Detroit’s staunchest ally on Capitol Hill, supporting it. ‘A 35-mpg standard is something that just a year and a half ago most people in Washington thought would never see the light of day,’ said Rep. Edward J. Markey (D-Mass.), who has pushed for higher standards for years. But though an agreement was reached on tougher miles-per-gallon rules, congressional negotiators labored over the weekend to try to complete work on other aspects of the energy bill. The bill is expected to include a requirement, popular among farm-state lawmakers, that greater amounts of homegrown fuel such as ethanol be added to the nation’s gasoline supply. It also is likely to include a measure, which earlier ran into trouble in the Senate, requiring utilities to generate more electricity from cleaner sources such as the sun and wind. Still, Democratic leaders were optimistic that they could get a bill to the president’s desk before the end of the year. The tougher fuel-economy standards are the centerpiece of the bill, expected to come before the House for a vote this week. Whether President Bush will sign the bill is uncertain. Many Republicans have complained that the bill does not do enough to increase domestic production of oil.”

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