Earth Equity News-April 22, 2008

U.S. Expected to Push Automakers on Mileage Improvements. By Bill Vlasic, NYTimes, April 22, 2008. "Federal regulators are expected to unveil today an accelerated schedule for auto companies to work toward a fuel-efficiency goal of 35 miles a gallon by 2020 for their vehicle fleets. The proposed regulation is likely to require the industry to meet a target of 31.5 miles a gallon for Corporate Average Fuel Economy, or CAFE, by 2015, according to three people with knowledge of the announcement. The interim standard would force auto companies to speed up their development of lighter, more fuel-efficient vehicles. In December, Congress mandated that auto companies reach a new minimum CAFE standard of 35 miles a gallon between 2011 and 2020. Currently, the average of cars and light trucks combined is about 25 miles a gallon. But the legislation left it to the Bush administration to determine how quickly the industry needed to make progress. The announcement, by the Transportation secretary, Mary E. Peters, is expected to require the industry to achieve more than half of the overall goal between 2011 and 2015."