Fuel Efficiency

CAFE standards for light trucks were raised yesterday by the Bush administration. Oddly, this is good policy, although the changes were minimal, and don’t take effect until 2011. The important and shocking feature to me though is that cars like the Hummer, and Ford Excursion (cars exceeding 8000 pounds) will be regulated under CAFE standards.

MyDD also ran a piece on Brazil, which recently completed a switch of its entire oil industry to sugar-cane ethanol. This was a process beginning with the 1970s oil crisis, which resulted in cheaper, natural fuel. Scott Shields cites our massive, influential oil industry for America’s lack of advancement, as well as the greater expense of corn, compared to Brazil’s sugar cane. But, like Shields, I believe the richest nation in the world could take some initiative here and decrease our dependence. Truth is though, Republicans can’t, and Democrats will.