Last week President Obama and his administration outlined changes that would greatly alter the fuel economy and emissions standards of the auto industry. Not only would these changes reduce the amount of greenhouse gas emissions emitted into the air by cars, but they would also save the average car buyer thousands of dollars in fuel.

So far both environmental organizations and lobby groups seem to be on board for the car fuel economy changes.

The best fuel economy standards?

So, what makes the 1,200 page fuel economy and emissions standards document so great for everyone? Besides completely altering the current rules of the Department of Transportation and the Environmental Protection Agency, these rules will also:

• Push for a 5% increase in fuel economy standards per year from 2011 to 2016
• Increase  automobile fuel standards from 27.3 mpg in 2011 up to 35.5 mpg in 2016
• Ensure that cars with model year 2016 would have to meet an average limit of 250 grams of carbon emitted per mile driven

These are all great changes that could help everyone reduce their carbon footprint. The government even says that these would:

• Save car buyers $3,000 in fuel costs over the life of a vehicle
• Reduce CO2 emissions about 950 million metric tons
• Greatly reduce US dependence on foreign oil by about 1.8 billion barrels

Overall, this sounds like a great green initiative, and we hope that it will help us reach the best fuel economy standards in a reasonable amount of time.

What do you think? Are these goals within reach?

Source: Matter Network