Some EPA Tips On Fuel Conservation
The state of California, the cities of Los Angeles, New York, Chicago and Boston, and a coalition of national pro-consumer and environment groups recently urged a federal appeals court to overturn a government decision lowering car fuel economy standards. In three suits filed in U.S. District Court, they say the decision by the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) to roll back the fleetwide average of 1986-model EPA gas mileage ratings from 27.5 miles per gallon (mpg) to 26 mpg will jeopardize fuel conservation efforts and increase air pollution in cities. They also say the NHTSA decision fails to punish Ford Motor Co.
Chrysler Corp. met it this model year but faces "gas-guzzler" fines on its large cars next year. The lawsuits ask NHTSA Administrator Diane Steed to reconsider her decision and assess its impact on air quality, fuel consumption and consumers.
The agency has said there will be "no significant environmental impact" from the reduced standard. California Attorney General John Van de Kamp said the reduced mileage standard is expected to increase fuel use by 1.54 billion gallons, making it "difficult to understand how it could be argued that the additional consumption, or waste, of this much gasoline could cause anything less than significant adverse impacts on the human environment." Los Angeles City Attorney Jim Hahn said the decision "frustrates the intent of Congress" to conserve energy and puts added pressure on energy firms to start drilling for oil off the California coast. "A decision like this would be the equivalent of adding 10 new industrial sources of pollution in the Los Angeles region," he said.
"We're also concerned here because...we don't need to start oil drilling here.
The additional 1.5 billion gallons of oil that would be consumed as a result of the lower standard represents more than twice the oil reserves in the Santa Monica Bay, which (companies) want to open up for drilling." New York Mayor Ed Koch, in a statement issued by his office yesterday, said the lower mileage rule "is a blow to this city's efforts to clean up its air." Albert Wallis, first assistant corporation counsel for the city of Boston, said the city believes NHTSA "didn't even think about the environmental impact when it made this decision." Ford and GM last summer pressured NHTSA to reduce the requirement, saying the companies could not meet the old standard because consumers are buying more large cars.
They said fierce competition from Japan, especially in the crowded market for smaller, more fuel-efficient cars, meant they could not sell enough EPA gas mileage ratings to meet the old rule. The two automakers also had faced substantial penalties -- up to $400 million for GM and about $80 million for Ford. Unless the standard remains eased throughout the decade, they say, they will be forced to stop building large cars in the United States or shift much of their large-car production abroad.
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