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Energy Literacy Advocates (ELA) is a non-partisan, non-profit, public education and advocacy group dedicated to improving the energy literacy of all sectors of our democracy in order to empower a comprehensive national energy policy that is responsible and sustainable. Stay tuned for updated energy news!
Thursday, December 6, 2007
Calculating the Energy Bills Real Figures
A recent article on the front page of the New York Times makes some excellent points regarding the proposed increase in CAFE standards sought by the energy bill currently under consideration by congress. Some key excerpts:
“Gas mileage would go up under the compromise reached by Congressional leaders last week, but not as high as the trumpeted numbers. And despite the tougher 35 m.p.g. standard, a growing population of drivers would push up total fuel use, as well as greenhouse gas emissions — but not as rapidly as would occur without the legislation. Those are some of the conclusions of auto policy experts, who were still struggling on Monday to determine exactly what the proposal would do…”
“The fleet average for vehicles in the 2020 model year would be set at 35 miles per gallon, versus about 25 miles per gallon for cars and light trucks today. Both numbers, though, come with a familiar caveat: actual mileage may vary. In fact, the actual performance falls short of the current standard by about 20 percent, as would be true as well of the higher standard if the proposal becomes law.”
“Even if the bill becomes law, the fuel-economy improvement that it calls for will probably not be great enough to prevent some increase in American fuel consumption because of the expected growth in the number of cars on the road and miles traveled. In 2020, the combined total of gasoline and ethanol use would be slightly higher than it is today, according to David Friedman of the Union of Concerned Scientists, on whose calculations the Democratic leaders relied.”
Clearly every option for efficiency must be evaluated for the ACTUAL affect it will have on consumption in order to sort out the best policy options. While estimates are just that, we must be careful to stick to the facts when analyzing each option.
“Gas mileage would go up under the compromise reached by Congressional leaders last week, but not as high as the trumpeted numbers. And despite the tougher 35 m.p.g. standard, a growing population of drivers would push up total fuel use, as well as greenhouse gas emissions — but not as rapidly as would occur without the legislation. Those are some of the conclusions of auto policy experts, who were still struggling on Monday to determine exactly what the proposal would do…”
“The fleet average for vehicles in the 2020 model year would be set at 35 miles per gallon, versus about 25 miles per gallon for cars and light trucks today. Both numbers, though, come with a familiar caveat: actual mileage may vary. In fact, the actual performance falls short of the current standard by about 20 percent, as would be true as well of the higher standard if the proposal becomes law.”
“Even if the bill becomes law, the fuel-economy improvement that it calls for will probably not be great enough to prevent some increase in American fuel consumption because of the expected growth in the number of cars on the road and miles traveled. In 2020, the combined total of gasoline and ethanol use would be slightly higher than it is today, according to David Friedman of the Union of Concerned Scientists, on whose calculations the Democratic leaders relied.”
Clearly every option for efficiency must be evaluated for the ACTUAL affect it will have on consumption in order to sort out the best policy options. While estimates are just that, we must be careful to stick to the facts when analyzing each option.
Labels: CAFE standards, efficiency, energy policy
posted by Jamie Lang at 5:32 AM
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