New Fuel Economy and Emissions Standards Program
The new standards for fuel economy aim to achieve the equivalent of 54.5 miles per gallon for light-duty trucks and cars by 2025. This new benchmark is almost twice in terms of fuel efficiency of the trucks and cars currently on the roads. The savings through this program, according to the Dept. of Transportation (DOT) estimates, will be to the tune of $1.7 trillion at the gas stations and cut down the oil consumption in the United States by 12 billion barrels.
A Job Creating Scenario
This makes environmentalists extremely happy but what if it is not realistic? In addition, America is loaded in natural resources and if American vehicles began to use natural gas as a fuel source, which America is the Saudi Arabia of, that could be hundreds of thousands of jobs, in America, that pay well.
A Combined Decision
The standards have been issued by DOT and the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA). The EPA and the National Highway and Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) developed these standards after prolonged engagement with automobile manufacturers, environmental and energy experts, the United Auto Workers, consumer groups, the states, and the public at large (the public at large wants jobs and productivity as well). 13 leading automakers, which account for a combined annual sale of more than 90 percent of the vehicles sold in the country, have declared their support for the new standards. OK, that settles that.
But would they change their mind if they knew natural gas stations or pumps at existing stations would begin to rise exponentially and this would mean billions of dollars every month would remain in America and not sent to Saudi Arabia?
Cost Savings
The combined savings of $1.7 trillion in fuel costs translates into an average fuel savings of more than $8,000 over the lifespan of a vehicle by 2025. For a family that buys a vehicle in 2025, the net savings will be equivalent to reducing the price of gas by about $1 per gallon. But many people know that gas prices should be below $2 per gallon if America took advantage of the resources it had, including our allies to the north, Canada.
Furthermore, these fuel saving and emissions control programs will cut down the dependence on oil imports, resulting in a saving of about 12 billion barrels of oil. Oil consumption will be reduced by over two million barrels per day by 2025, which is nearly 50 percent of the oil imported by the U.S. from OPEC per day.
Jobs and Energy
As per the DOT, the new fuel standards also represent an exceptional effort to cut down carbon emissions and address the challenges of climate change. But does it really? Climate change is inevitable. Nothing remains the same; the cycle of earth is a reality. Improved fuel efficiency does help out the planet but to ignore the resources that America has underneath its feet and to neglect millions of unemployed people is outrageous and this is what the EPA has been doing. The EPA has caused as much damage to America as her enemies have, according to many people in the know.
Emission Reductions
The combined effect of the new fuel economy standards will reduce greenhouse gas emissions from light trucks and cars by 50 percent by 2025. In other words, carbon emissions to the tune of six billion metric tons will be reduced over the life of the program, which is more than the aggregate amount of carbon dioxide emitted nationwide in 2010.