35 mpg by 2020: Disgrace

by paradox

Nancy Pelosi will no doubt hail the new energy legislation hammered out in compromise session that forces American auto companies to a 35 mpg fuel efficiency standard as a landmark legislative achievement, an Everest accomplishment that demonstrably validates the power of good collective government. I’ll give Nancy at least the passage of the bill with raised fuel efficiency standards the due it deserves, it does raise standards, in principle this is a step in the right direction, but it’s still a disgrace in technical reality and pathetic in its scope relative to the screaming urgency of solving our energy problems.

2020? Why not 2035, hell, why 2050? National policy goals like this with time frames 13 years out are utterly worthless, not only is it far too long but anything could happen in 13 years, Jesus these rationalizations about what will happen in some magical mystical future are nauseating, grow up, will it ever happen?

Any real goal of this scope should only have a four year span to coincide with the leadership of the presidential term. Anything more than that and I just assume I’m being lied to, no Congress or President ever reaches these absurd long-range goals, they’re never around when the dates arrive.

Furthermore, 35 mpg for a car even by 2012 is a rankly pathetic technical achievement, this country put a rover on Mars and birthed computers but can’t produce a car that easily reaches 55 mpg by 2012? Bullshit.

If the Big Two whine enough that they just can’t change, think, innovate or be functional humans to technically accomplish it formulate an industrial public policy that will. We do that with the NIH and pharmaceuticals now.

The American auto manufacturers have always screamed bloody murder they can’t technically accomplish 55 mpg, but that’s bullshit too, they loathe the idea of government telling them what to do in ways they’re sure will make them sales losers, Americans want their big gas guzzlers. Period.

Only real Democratic leadership is ever going to force the country to face that screaming global warming and middle east policy problems are directly related to what the national mpg standard is. That we Americans have to drastically change the way we produce and own cars. That the oil companies will sell a lot less in volume, boo fucking hoo.

Still waiting. Some day it’s got to happen, it makes too much sense and solves too many problems.