60 MPG By 2025
A new Ceres report suggests that the 60 mpg standard under consideration by the Obama administration could create 700,000 full time jobs by 2030.
Less money spent at the pump means more money for the U.S. economy and more jobs,” said Ceres spokesman Peyton Fleming. “The weaker the standard the fewer the jobs that will be created.
With the summer driving season in full swing, most Americans are painfully aware of a major cost associated with our transportation industry’s dependence on oil: high prices at the pump. With many people relying on personal vehicles for their daily transportation needs, higher fuel economy standards could have a big impact on the average American’s pocketbook. For this and its other enormous benefits to Americans, an ambitious increase in the CAFE standard to 60 mpg by 2025 is gaining traction among a diverse assortment of Americans.
National security experts, recognizing the danger of continuing to rely on fossil fuels, and particularly those that come from unfriendly regimes, support the increase because it will dramatically reduce our reliance on oil. Securing America’s Future Oil, for example, released a report arguing that enacting the standard would reduce our dependence on oil by one third in 2050. That is no small amount considering that Americans consume 14 million barrels of oil per day.
60 mpg by 2025 has strong Republican support as well. In a letter to President Obama, prominent Republicans (including ASP board member, and former governor of New Jersey, Christine Todd Whitman) argued that substantially increasing the standard is crucial to both our economy and our security. Indeed,
…we must resolve to unshackle ourselves from the world oil market… If oil continues to be a primary driver of our economy and security, we will hand our destiny to other nations, many of which do not share our interests.
Furthermore, American business supports a high fuel economy standard, in recognizing the tremendous benefits the American economy would realize from reducing dependence on oil. Returning to the Ceres study, which released its preliminary findings (full report to become available later this month), a 60 mpg by 2025 standard would create up to 700,000 permanent American jobs by 2030, 600,000 of them in the automobile industry. Savings from the increased standard would reach $152 billion a year by 2030, including $93 billion to be “spread out” through the economy.
The numbers, of course, speak for themselves. It is worth noting, however, that these are not just any jobs. They are highly skilled positions in manufacturing, design, and engineering that can help drive American innovation toward developing a clean, 21st century economy. Investment that decreases our reliance on oil pumps money otherwise spent on this expensive and harmful fuel back into the American economy, where it belongs. We will pay for our fossil fuel-based economy; the only question is whether we choose to pay now, investing in new technology, or pay later. Investing now will drive economic growth and innovation. Paying later, to clean up public health and economic problems, will not.
And if I may indulge in a harmless appeal to our nationalist tendencies: European standards reached 45 mpg in 2008, and yet we’re hoping to achieve 34.5 mpg by 2016. Differences among driving habits and lifestyles aside, American innovators have, time and time again, proven their ability to accomplish extraordinary things, and stringent fuel efficiency standards should be no different. It is in our best interest as a nation to support projects that reduce oil consumption while driving economic growth.
