The Rocky Mountain Collegian

Media Credit: Lindsay Brenner/The University News [Click to enlarge]

There is a single policy change that could be made which would cut the U.S. trade deficit, help the environment, benefit consumers, even help in the fight against Islamic extremism in the Middle East. It is a simple change that uses existing technology and requires little more investment to implement. The only hard part is finding enough policy-makers with the backbone to stand up to the lobbyists who oppose it. The policy is increasing fuel efficiency standards and it is the single easiest thing Americans can do to improve their lives.

It's no secret that we are dependent upon foreign oil. Today the United States imports 55 percent of our daily oil needs, the highest rate in our nation's history. To do this we import around 10 million barrels of oil per day. Reducing this dependence would provide tremendous benefits, and is well within our capabilities. Since two-thirds of our oil is consumed by transportation, that is the easiest place to make a significant cut, and should be the focus of future energy policies.

Much of the blame for high fuel usage lies with outdated fuel efficiency standards. Despite a doubling in the average number of miles driven and the increasing popularity of SUVs, the corporate average fuel economy (CAFE) standards have not been updated since 1985, resulting in a fleet of cars that now get fewer miles per gallon than any cars since 1988. Compounding that problem are recent tax breaks that actually allow SUV purchases to be written off as a business expense since those vehicles weigh over 6,000 pounds and are classified as light trucks. Yes, that means that a doctor can purchase a brand new Hummer H2 and legitimately claim it on his tax returns as a business expense. With the adoption of their recent standards last November, even the Chinese have more fuel efficient cars than we do.

We need to reverse this trend, and do it fast. Fortunately, technology has been developed that allows cars to get significantly higher miles per gallon, with minimal decrease in performance. When CAFE standards were first introduced, they increased fuel efficiency standards over 70 percent between 1975 and 1988. We should replicate this by aiming to increase our current CAFE standards of 27 miles per gallon for cars and 20 mpg for trucks to an average of 35 mpg by 2012 and 40 mpg by 2020. SUVs need to be reclassified as passenger vehicles instead of light trucks, thereby closing the tax loophole and discouraging SUV consumption. By doing this we can dramatically lower our oil imports, and break free of our foreign oil dependence.

What would this do for us? Let's start with foreign trade. The U.S racked up a trade deficit of $490 billion last year, the highest in our history. We send almost $200,000 overseas to buy oil every minute. Slicing oil consumption would take a big chunk out of this number, and more importantly reshape where our money is going.

Who is our biggest oil supplier? Saudi Arabia, a country you may also know as the birthplace of militant Islam, Osama Bin Laden and the majority of the Sept. 11 hijackers. Cutting off the demand for their oil would throw them for an economic loop. Suddenly, deprived of their ticket to wealth, Saudis would have to start investing in their people in order to be successful. They may even find that it's difficult to succeed in a competitive economy if you subjugate half of your workforce (i.e. women). It may take a while, but in the long run I am betting oil prices will provide a greater incentive to reshape the Middle East than do M-16s.

The environmental benefits of less oil consumption are obvious. Less oil means less pollution, less greenhouse gasses and a cleaner world.

Greater fuel efficiency would have a direct impact on your wallet. Not only would you be filling up your tank every two weeks instead of every week, but less demand would cause prices to fall, meaning when you did fill up your car that it would be cheaper. If we reach 40 mpgs by 2020, consumers will save over $40 billion.

So why hasn't anything been done? The short answer is because lobbyists from the oil and automobile industries. They stand to lose quite a bit if deprived of the lucrative oil market. Increased efficiency would drive the price of cars up by approximately $1,000, but fuel savings of $3,000 over the life of the car more than make up for it. Some lobbyists link higher CAFE standards to smaller and therefore more dangerous cars. It's amazing that the industry which fought against seatbelts in the '60s and airbags in the '90s is suddenly concerned about safety. The safety of a car is relative. A 9,000-pound Hummer may be safe for the driver but it certainly isn't safe for the rest of us.

In the end there is no good reason not to raise CAFE standards, and doing so would provide numerous benefits. Now all we need to do is find politicians who care more about doing the right thing than staying close with oil industry lobbyists.

Stephen Webber is a junior studying economics.

Article Tools