BTL:Auto Industry Resists Fuel Efficiency Standards Making U.S. Increasingly...

...Dependent on Foreign Oil~ Jim Motavalli, editor of E: The Environmental Magazine, conducted by Between the Lines' Melinda Tuhus

Auto Industry Resists Fuel Efficiency Standards Making U.S. Increasingly Dependent on Foreign Oil

Jim Motavalli, editor of E: The Environmental Magazine, conducted by Melinda Tuhus

The Bush White House has been attempting to get an energy bill through Congress for the past four years. It came one step closer when the House approved the most recent version in mid-April. The bill is full of tax breaks for the fossil fuel and nuclear power industries, while providing miniscule support for renewable energy sources such as solar and wind. The legislation calls for oil drilling in the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge, and protects oil companies that manufactured the toxic fuel additive MTBE, that were the targets of lawsuits. The bill now goes to the Senate.

Democratic critics say a major weakness of the legislation is its failure to set stricter vehicle fuel economy standards in order to reduce dependence on foreign oil. Corporate Average Fuel Economy, or CAFE, standards were established by Congress in the 1970s in response to the Arab oil embargo and a spike in gasoline prices. CAFE standards have changed very little over the past three decades, and are now 27.5 miles per gallon for automobiles, and 20.7 for light trucks, with the standard for trucks rising only slightly by 2007.

Between The Lines' Melinda Tuhus spoke with Jim Motavalli, editor of E, the Environmental Magazine, who has written extensively on environmental and transportation issues. He talks about why the CAFE standards have remained static, and lays out an alternative to the policies put forward by the Bush administration.

Jim Motavalli is author of "Feeling the Heat: Dispatches from the Front Lines of Climate Change," published by Routledge. Call E Magazine at (203) 854-5559 or visit their website at www.emagazine.com

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"Between The Lines" is a half-hour syndicated radio news magazine that each week features a summary of under-reported news stories and interviews with activists and journalists who offer progressive perspectives on international, national and regional political, economic and social issues. Because "Between The Lines" is independent of all publications, media networks or political parties, we are able to bring a diversity of voices to the airwaves generally ignored or marginalized by the major media. For more information on this week's topics and to check out our text archive listing topics and guests presented in previous programs visit: http://www.btlonline.org
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