Are Fuel Economy Standards Deadly?
Reducing our dependence on foreign energy sources seems like a good thing, right? But, even as the Senate debates an energy bill, a non-partisan public policy organization called the Competitive Enterprise Institute suggests that an increase in fuel economy requirements could cost American lives. It says amendments to the proposed Energy Bill that would drastically increase fuel economy standards would do so “without regard to technological feasibility or the safety of America’s drivers.” An amendment being offered by Senator Maria Cantwell (D-WA), for example, requires the Bush administration to develop measures to reduce foreign oil imports by 40 percent by the year 2025, which the Competitive Enterprise Institute believes is an unrealistic goal. The Cantwell amendment calls for a reduction of one million barrels of oil a day by 2014 and a reduction of almost eight million barrels per day in 2025. By some estimates, this would require almost a tripling of current passenger-car fuel e
