BETTER GAS MILEAGE, BIOFUELS GOOD FOR TENNESSEE AIR, JOBS”

Weekly Column of U.S. Senator Lamar Alexander
July 8, 2007
Last week the Senate passed major legislation that would help reduce America’s dependence on foreign oil, decrease air pollution, and create new jobs in Tennessee.
The CLEAN Energy Act, approved by a vote of 65 to 27, is the first time since 1975 that vehicle fuel economy standards have been increased.

When the Corporate Average Fuel Economy (CAFE) standard was created in 1975 for cars and light trucks in the aftermath of the Arab oil embargo, it resulted in a savings of 3 million barrels of oil per day.
The new Senate bill would raise fuel efficiency standards beginning in 2011. In 2020, the nationwide average fleet fuel economy standard for cars and light trucks would be 35 mpg, which by 2020 would remove 206 million metric tons of carbon dioxide from the atmosphere per year and save consumers nearly $25 billion at the pump (based on a cost per gallon of $2.55).
That represents real savings for America’s families, a better quality of life, and a much lower vulnerability to turbulence in the Middle East.
But the bill goes beyond simply requiring that manufacturers build more efficient vehicles. It also would increase the production of renewable fuels to at least 36 billion gallons by 2022 – that would result in a major boost to Tennessee agriculture and could reduce world oil prices by as much as $2.50 per barrel.