Jab #1

Tuesday President Obama announced he was raising the national mileage standards to an average 35.5 mpg by 2016, with a required 5% increase each year leading up to 2016. This is the same law that was already in place, but just moving the deadline up 4 years. Automakers obviously fought the changes, saying among other things that it would increase the initial cost of a vehicle by $1300. Here's the thing: right now, I am driving a car that gets 36 mpg highway, 33 road. It's 8 years old. THE AUTO INDUSTRY ALREADY MAKES CARS THAT MEET THIS STANDARD. THAT'S NOT THE PROBLEM. The damn problem is that no one will buy a car that gets good gas mileage!! My car has a V4 engine. It does not accelerate very well. It's small. There's not a DVD player installed. It's gas tank is barely 13 gallons. BUT - I've never gotten a speeding ticket. I've never dangerously cut someone off. I've never tailgated someone, or blocked someone's view of the road. I've never ran a red light. I've never been in an accident. I've never paid more than $50 to fill up my tank, even last summer. I've never done these dangerous, wasteful things mostly because my car CAN'T do those things. And it doesn't need to! Nobody needs a 300 horsepower engine. The problem isn't that we don't have the technology, it's that we don't have the will to live greener, be thriftier, and be more aware of our place in the world.