PennEnvironment calls for 62 mpg by 2025
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HARRISBURG -- The federal government needs to raise its fuel efficiency standards to 62 mpg by 2025 to reduce America's dependence on oil and greenhouse gas emissions, a Pennsylvania environmental organization said in a report released today.
This contrasts with the 56.2 mpg number the White House had floated at negotiations with key automobile manufactures in late June. PennEnvironment's recommendations are more stringent by 5.8 mpg.
"We have the technology. We don't have to settle. It doesn't need to be a compromise," said Megan Fitzpatrick, a federal field associate with PennEnvironment, said of the fuel efficiency recommendations.
"Every tiny bit matters when you have that many people on the road," she said of the nations' 256 million vehicles, 11 million of which are from Pennsylvania.
In 2008, the average passenger car fuel efficiency was 22.6 mpg, according to the Bureau of Transportation Statistics. Last year, the Transportation Department and the Environmental Protection Agency said they would consider a federal standard somewhere between 47 mpg and 62 mpg. President Barack Obama is currently negotiating with vehicle manufacturers to set this standard. Negotiations are expected to commence in September.
PennEnvironment's study said a 31 percent reduction of today's oil use by 2030-31 is possible if "strong action" is taken. In addition to increasing fuel efficiency, the study recommends, among other things, investing in a public transportation infrastructure, establishing a clean fuel standard, and updating heating units in old homes.
Ms. Fitzpatrick said her organization supports the use of electric vehicles, cars that run on an electric charge rather than gas, to meet this goal. However, she said PennEnvironment did not support the use of cars that run on natural gas given concerns for the natural gas extraction process of fracking, which she said pollutes drinking water and negatively affects the health of ecosystems.
"We don't need to rely on natural gas to do this, we can do it with existing technology ... ideally cars will be powered by solar and wind. However, even if an electric vehicle uses coal, it is fundamentally more efficient than ??? combustion engines," she said.
"Americans of all ideologies and political affiliations want to get off oil."
U.S. Air Force veteran Tim Diehl said he supported the move since American sends $20 million overseas for oil every day. He said much of that money "ends up hands of terrorists and nations that don't share American values. All of that money represents the jobs that we could be creating here in Pennsylvania and throughout the country."
Dr. Jim Jones, member of Physicians for Social Responsibility, said reducing greenhouse gas emissions is essential to the health of America's next generation.
"If we want to really get rid of asthma attacks and other lung disease then our goal is to decrease the burning of fossil fuels ... So for the health of your children's, your grandchildren's, vulnerable lungs, drive a fuel-efficient car, drive less, and get everybody else to do the same."
First Published July 6, 2011 2:57 pm
