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March 29th, 2013
With all the focus on DC dysfunction these days, it’s nice to celebrate something good happening in Washington that will help us all breathe a little easier. The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) unveiled its new tailpipe and fuel standards today, a critical step aimed at improving air quality and public health. Read More
February 4th, 2013
Newsflash – Americans spend a lot on gasoline. In fact, over the lifetime of an average vehicle, you spend around $22,000 on gasoline. That might be as much as you spent on the vehicle in the first place. So where does all this money end up? Read More
October 16th, 2012
It recently came to our attention that Representative Lee Terry from Nebraska is running a campaign ad citing the Union of Concerned Scientists and analysis we did some years ago and claiming that he authored the “historic” fuel economy legislation that passed Congress in 2007. I’ve got two words to describe this new ad: “historic fiction.” Read More
August 28th, 2012
Ever have a dream and wake up to find out that it wasn’t a dream after all – that you were actually living the dream? I think that must be how many of the NASA engineers felt when the rover Curiosity landed on Mars earlier this month, but such dreams aren’t confined to outer space exploration. Right here on the Blue Planet, dreams really can come true…even in Washington, DC, during the so-called “silly season” that is an election year. Read More
June 29th, 2012
This week provided 4 important reminders of why we need standards that require the auto industry to build cleaner, more fuel efficient cars and trucks and the benefits these standards will bring for our health, economy and environment. Read More
June 20th, 2012
In less than 36 hours, Congress will once again be voting on your health.
On Thursday, the House of Representatives will consider HR 4480 – Domestic Energy and Jobs Act – or DEJA. It’s aptly named, because as Yogi Berra would say, it certainly feels like “deja-vu all over again” – with fossil fuel lobbyists and their Congressional allies once again attempting to undermine the Environmental Protection Agency by using false claims about the impacts that future standards could have on gas prices. Read More
March 27th, 2012
One of America’s storied auto companies, General Motors has been in the news a lot lately. Some of the news has been good, some not so good, but overall I see some real progress and reason to think that GM is ready to write a new chapter in a history that has at times been marked by old-school thinking and unfortunate choices. Read More
January 20th, 2012
My nominee for quote of the week comes from this paragraph in a January 17th New York Times story:
“We’re celebrating something that has taken a long time to reach,” said Representative John D. Dingell, a Michigan Democrat who helped quash previous efforts to impose higher mileage standards. “There appears to be no significant opposition amongst responsible persons.” Read More
November 16th, 2011
Today the Obama administration proposed new fuel efficiency and global warming pollution standards for model year 2017 through 2025 cars and light trucks. The move represents another critical step in reducing the nation’s oil consumption and harmful emissions from vehicles. UCS applauded this announcement, as I said in the press release we just put out, “If you love going to the gas station, you will hate these standards.” Read More
November 3rd, 2011
Just had to jump on this two-wheeled bandwagon for folks who might not have seen the furor over the ad campaign that General Motors (GM) has been running on college campuses this Fall. In a cynical and tone-deaf effort to appeal to today’s “disaffected” youth, the ad campaign, titled “Reality Sucks – Luckily the GM College Discount Doesn’t,” suggests that biking or walking is uncool – the tagline was “stop pedaling, start driving.” Read More
© 2013
