Join Our Online Forest Photo Rally!
We're collecting photos of people in the forests they love so we can send the message to Congress: protect our wild places, don't sell them off. Right now there's a proposal to make up for budget shortfalls by selling off 800,000 of public lands. We need to make sure our elected officials know how important these places are to us.
We all know that our dependence on oil is jeapordizing our environment, our economy, and our security. One of the fastest, and easiest, ways we could drastically reduce our dependence on oil would be to make sure our vehicles go twice as far on a gallon of gas.
As the chart below shows, the US is lagging drastically behind the rest of the world in our fuel efficiency - as the EU is planning on getting up over 50mpg, the US is stuck at 27mpg for cars, and 20.5mpg for SUVs and trucks.
The CAFE (Corporate Average Fuel Economy) standard was initially set in 1974, with a goal of doubling gas mileage to 27.5 (its current level) by 1985. Under current law, CAFE standards must be set at the "maximum feasible level" by the Department of Transportation, considering these four factors:
(1) Technological feasibilityWe would make the case that since CAFE has not been raised in over two decades, and all of the above criteria are in fact met, it's time to double the standard again. But, it's not going to be easy. We've got to get the automakers on board, then a couple government agencies, and then Congress. To read about the step in the plan, click here.