CAFE standards topped off

In 2003 Congress passed on the chance to enact meaningful statutory increases in Corporate Average Fuel Economy standards. 40 mpg for cars and light trucks by 2015, the standard advocated by Senator Joe Lieberman and others, would have saved us 2 million barrels of oil per day.

Instead, they decided to pass the buck and directed the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration to begin to start to think about studying tougher standards.

And this is what we get: Transportation secretary Norm Mineta arriving in--hilariously--a Lincoln Navigator to announce paltry increases in CAFE standards (NYT). So meaningless is the increase that it would be more than offset by the "dual fuel" loophole recently passed as part of this year's comprehensive energy bill. (UCS)