eatening our quality of life by draining our wallets at the gas pump, polluting our air, and devastating our climate. Every day, we send nearly $1 billion overseas for foreign oil – wasting money that should be fueling American innovation and investment in growing industries like clean energy. Our oil addiction fuels the climate disruption that is increasing the number and intensity of severe droughts and devastating storms. It also puts our troops at risk around the world, and our families' health and security at risk here at home.”
Obviously Brune is an unabashed supporter of the proposed national CAFE requirements, not to mention the advanced regulations California is considering. He goes on to state that in 2025, new car buyers will end up saving $3,500 over the cost of the new technology, resulting in a savings of 1.5 million barrels of oil daily – exactly the amount we imported from Saudi Arabia and Iraq in 2010. Not only that he see the new regulations creating over half a million jobs throughout the country by 2030.
"We believe it's a pretty reasonable target," said Simon Mui, a batteries scientist who works with the San Francisco-based Natural Resources Defense Council, according to the Mercury News. "Every major automaker and numerous startups are offering some type of plug-in hybrid or pure-electric vehicle already -- or they will be in the next two or three years."
We recently saw unleaded gasoline selling for $2.92 a gallon locally, but one only need look to Iran’s saber-rattling in the Straits of Hormuz last week to realize how volatile the price really is. If we relax our guard and begin sucking up gas in inefficient vehicles again, that alone would drive up the price.
Still that’s not the best argument for these new standards.
“As a father of two young kids, I'm relieved to know that the cars they'll drive in the years to come will use much less oil and emit less pollution,” Brune said. “The reality is, these standards are strong, and they need to be stronger. Dirty oil pollutes our air, our water and our atmosphere – and as we've seen over the past couple of elections, Big Oil cash pollutes our democracy.”
Those are the reasons we need cleaner cars: for our children, our planet and our political system to survive.