The U.S. federal government teamed up with all of the major auto manufacturers and hammered out a deal to double the average fuel efficiency of all vehicles on the road by 2025 — to 54.5 miles per gallon. New vehicles sold under the program will save "a total of four billion barrels of oil and prevent two billion metric tons of greenhouse gas pollution," reports Tom Friedman, whose most recent stab at being a cleantech advocate almost redeems all that time he spent misdirecting us on foreign policy.
According to Dan Becker, director of the Safe Climate Campaign of the Center for Auto Safety, this "is the biggest single step that any nation has taken to cut global warming pollution."
It's a huge win on every count — in terms of energy independence, national security, and of course, pollution and climate change. So, naturally, Republicans, led by Rep. Darrell Issa of California, are trying to kill it.
