Obama Goes Green
At first blush, most of this makes some sense. But some are saying, "Uh, maybe not so much..."
One thing they are especially calling attention to is that California's proposed rule on fuel economy actually doesn't require any improvement in economy in individual cars. What it does, they say, is impose a "CAFE" type of requirement on each manufacturer. That means the manufacturer must meet a certain average fuel economy for the fleet of cars it sells in California.
What does this mean, in practice?
It means that the manufacturer can sell only a limited number of lower-mileage cars, such as SUV's, which must be offset by a large number of smaller cars. In theory, this might work. In fact, it may mean rationing of pickup trucks, etc. Maybe a good thing, right?
The fly in the ointment is that Californians can go to other states and buy those vehicles and then take them to California. The cars sold in most of the states in the area meet all the requirements for California sale. They just won't be able to be sold there, originally.
There is actually a precedent for this problem. Diesel fuel in California is a very special mix, designed to reduce diesel emissions. But it costs a lot more than diesel in the surrounding states, and produces less power. The result is that truckers buy fuel out in New Mexico on their way to California, and don't buy fuel in the state. So they actually end up burning dirtier fuel in California than they would otherwise.
The unintended consequences of any law are certainly hard to predict, and the moves today will, undoubtedly, take a while to shake out.
At first blush, most of this makes some sense. But some are saying, "Uh, maybe not so much..."
One thing they are especially calling attention to is that California's proposed rule on fuel economy actually doesn't require any improvement in economy in individual cars. What it does, they say, is impose a "CAFE" type of requirement on each manufacturer. That means the manufacturer must meet a certain average fuel economy for the fleet of cars it sells in California.
What does this mean, in practice?
It means that the manufacturer can sell only a limited number of lower-mileage cars, such as SUV's, which must be offset by a large number of smaller cars. In theory, this might work. In fact, it may mean rationing of pickup trucks, etc. Maybe a good thing, right?
The fly in the ointment is that Californians can go to other states and buy those vehicles and then take them to California. The cars sold in most of the states in the area meet all the requirements for California sale. They just won't be able to be sold there, originally.
There is actually a precedent for this problem. Diesel fuel in California is a very special mix, designed to reduce diesel emissions. But it costs a lot more than diesel in the surrounding states, and produces less power. The result is that truckers buy fuel out in New Mexico on their way to California, and don't buy fuel in the state. So they actually end up burning dirtier fuel in California than they would otherwise.
The unintended consequences of any law are certainly hard to predict, and the moves today will, undoubtedly, take a while to shake out.
And she actually comes up with an idea that makes sense, at least to my meager first-thing-in-the-morning mind:
