by Maceo Carrillo Martinet
Daily Lobo columnist
I was driving my truck to school today when I heard on the radio, "How about buying an SUV? Prices are at an all-time low."
I thought to myself, who in their right mind would want to buy an SUV with the rise in gas prices? Who wants to watch the price dial rise as if you won the jackpot at the casino in reverse every time you fill up? Why are we being encouraged to buy some of the worst gas-guzzling, inefficient vehicles on the market at a time when we know there is a horrible connection between oil and the bloodshed in Iraq?
After filling up my own light truck, I thought, if these are the most inefficient cars in terms of gas for the buck, then why are trucks 8,500 pounds or heavier exempt from certain federal regulation? Why are these gas-addicted vehicles some of most affordable on the market? SUVs and related vehicles went from being near non-existent on the roads in 1990, to today, when one in every two people have one.
In response to the ecological impact that oil drilling will have on Alaska's national wildlife refuge, Sen. Pete Domenici declared, "We will see for ourselves how American ingenuity and innovation protects our environment and our wildlife." Unfortunately, this passionate statement leaves a bitter taste in my the mouth, considering that it is a well-known fact, recently supported by none other then the Environmental Protection Agency, that American-produced cars and trucks are significantly less efficient, on average, then they were in the late 1980s.
While energy-efficiency technology has dramatically improved since the 1980s, our ingenuity and innovation were busy creating cars that awarded us a macho image, instead of one that makes sense economically, as well as environmentally. Is this the same type of ingenuity and innovation we are using to justify sacrificing a sacred piece of Alaska just for a couple of months of oil? After making this declaration, Domenici went on to sign against an amendment that would strengthen fuel economy standards for SUVs, minivans and pickups.
Perhaps our environmentally sensitive ingenuity and innovation will flourish with Bush's signing of the Energy Bill and a new Corporate Average Fuel Economy Law. These two pieces of legislation are pretty important, considering they will be essential influences on our economy for the next decade or so. A researcher with the Union of Concerned Scientists described the legislation by saying that, at best, the administration's approach does nothing. At worst, it creates loopholes that increase our oil dependence.
The new fuel economy law signed by Bush in early August will increase the energy efficiency of SUVs and related vehicles by 1.8 gallons over four years. However, research points out that we can achieve a one-gallon improvement every year. Improving energy efficiency every year instead of over four years would save lots of money for those commuting to work every day, and would actually make the American auto industry more competitive.
The new energy bill signed by Bush provides incentives to develop nuclear energy, which ultimately means more toxic materials will be processed or stored near American-Indian communities. Do not be surprised if in the next couple of years we see more offshore oil drilling, the construction of more coal-fired plants and more electric industry deregulation.
The energy bill also effectively weakens all the processes that are supposed to hold the chemical, electrical and fossil fuel industries accountable to the rights of the ecology and the local community. Who wants to deal with such painstaking bundles of red tape as the Clean Air Act, Clean Water Act, the National Environmental Policy Act and the Safe Drinking Water Act?
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The energy bill puts into motion the ingenuity and innovation of Vice President Dick Cheney's Energy Task Force, which met exclusively with industry executives. After Hurricane Katrina, Bush told the nation to conserve gas in the next couple of weeks because of rising prices and shortages. Why doesn't Bush tell the gas companies to stop price gouging? Exxon-Mobil is making close to $1 billion a day, and by the end of this year will post the highest profits ever made by any industry in history.
Is this the American ingenuity and innovation we are talking about?
