Senate passes energy bill, boosting mileage standards (CNN)

The CNN headline that popped into my email box this morning caught my eye, so I surfed my way across the internet pond to have a look.

CNN gives an insight into the fascinating differences between the UK and the US. This article is about fuel economy. The Senate has passed an energy bill which legislates the average mpg for cars, SUV's and pickups. The energy bill shows how American politicians are beginning to move away from oil and investing in other technologies for the future.

The UK does not regulate mpg, our culture has always been one with expensive fuel so fuel efficiency has for a longer time been a priority with no need for legislative guidelines. People choose diesel cars over petrol for reasons of economy. European cars have always been traditionally smaller compared to American gas-guzzlers giving higher efficiencies.

The CNN article gives a micro insight into the political environment of the US. The auto lobby had rounded up a posse of senators to threaten a filibuster (where a senator or senator talks a debate out of time). Senators had to be recalled to ensure the 60 vote margin needed to end the debate.

The bill will now pass to the house of representatives and then will then be formulated into a bill for signing into law by the president.

What was put in and left out of the energy bill gives a view of where in the debate about oil and climate change in the US stands.

In:

- fuel efficiency to average 35mpg by 2020

- Measures to prevent price gouging or excessive pricing of gasoline products

- funding for new technology fuel efficiency / alternate fuels

- Ethanol production to reach 36 billion gallons a year by 2022

- Support for carbon capture technologies

- half of new cars capable of running on 85% ethanol / bio diesel by 2015

- New appliance and efficient lighting standards plus a requirement for the Federal government to do more in its own buildings on efficient lighting.

Out:

- $32 billion package of tax incentives for renewable energy and clean fuels (with a 10 year tax of $29 billion on oil companies to pay for it)

- Requirement for utility companies to provide at least 15% of their energy from renewable sources

The bill seems to echo what President Bush has been saying for years, that technology will solve climate change not taxes and enforced renewable targets. In fact you might conclude that it seems that it is still unpalatable to suggest such things in the current US political climate. The oil and auto lobbies are still strong and desperately trying to protect their empires.

It looks like the winners for this bill were the farmers, electricity industry and the oil companies. Three very powerful lobby groups in the US.

For the American auto industry it puts further pressure on them to change and will inevitably decrease their profits. Will the American people put up with more expensive vehicles even though they get to keep their cheap fuel?