According to MSNBC the White House is about to announce an increase in the MPG average to 42MPG.
New cars and trucks will need to be 30% more fuel efficient by 2016, with progress toward this new requirement phasing in yearly starting 2011. Apparently this deal has been struck with the key industry players and is going to settle suits between the auto manufacturers and individual States such as California which were persuing standards supplemental to federal law.
According to MSNBC Obama will announce these requirements tomorrow and the individual breakdown between cars and trucks will be 42mpg for cars (currently 27.5mpg min) and 26.2mpg for light trucks (SUVs, pickups, from 24 mpg).
Environmentalists praised the move. Carl Pope, executive director of the Sierra Club, called it "one of the most significant efforts undertaken by any president, ever, to end our addiction to oil and seriously slash our global warming emissions."
Daniel Weiss, director of climate strategy at the Center for American Progress, described it as "a triple play: It will help move America off foreign oil, save families money and spur American businesses to take the lead in developing the job-creating, clean-energy technologies of the future."
Not a lot more to add other than this is excellent news - and exactly what we have been discussing on DKOS - if we can't get everything we need through Congress, effective use of Federal agencies to clean the air and regulate CO2 out of the system is an important component of a smart environmental policy.
MSNBC : http://www.msnbc.msn.com/...