Baltimore – President Obama finalized pollution standards for heavy-duty vehicles, including buses and work trucks, for the years 2014 through 2018—the first-ever global warming pollution standards for trucks.
Trucks’ average fuel economy today is a low 6.1 miles per gallon, which increases the cost of transporting goods for consumers and businesses, while also producing excessive pollution. The new standards are set to improve fuel efficiency and reduce carbon pollution from heavy-duty vehicles, such as the largest pickup trucks and vans, semi-trailer trucks, and other types of work vehicles and buses. The combined improvements have the potential to cut global warming pollution by over 50 million metric tons each year and reduce our dependence on oil by 300,000 barrels daily by 2030.
Foster Hardiman, Federal Field Organizer with Environment Maryland, issued the following response:
“Heavy duty trucks have long been critical to our nation’s economy, but they also carry with them a heavy toll. These vehicles drive more miles than anything else on the road, and they have been doing so without restrictions to the pollution they emit or the oil they burn.
“Now, with President Obama announcing the first-ever standards to reduce trucks’ oil consumption and global warming pollution, the trucks that move freight across Maryland will also help move us away from oil. We are proud to support this effort.
“In finalizing standards for heavy duty vehicles, President Obama is making essential strides forward in fuel economy—we hope he will continue to maximize pollution reductions and oil savings with new standards for cars and light trucks.
“We applaud the President’s call for these vehicles to meet a standard equivalent to 54.5 mpg by 2025, and we will work to ensure that the integrity of that program is not lost through regulatory loopholes.
“These combined standards are vital to getting our country off oil, cleaning up the air our families breathe, protecting the waterways we expose to oil spills, and providing consumers relief from the impacts of high gas prices.”
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7 comments:
Foster has lost his mind. All this means is higher prices and fewer jobs.
He doesn't show you all of the information. The downsides to this are trucks costing $8,000-$10,000 extra and higher maintenance costs. The only people buying these trucks are the bigger corps. with bigger budgets. All of this will cost the consumer and the economy in the end.
Heavy trucks that get 54 miles per gallon?? They won't cost much will they? Everyone wonders why companies aren't hiring with regulations like these coming down from the government. Less trucks will be purchased and thus less drivers will be hired.
Better go to nuclear powered trucks.
in reference to an earlier comment the heavy duty trucks do not need to get the 54.5 mpg. That is just for cars and light trucks, and does not come into effect until 2025. Auto companies agreed to that number. As for heavy duty trucks, that was even less controversial. The industry and truckers agreed, and were in fact happy to see a standard put in place. This is because, the price of fueling their trucks has gotten to be crazy. Added costs for new technology will be made up in saving on fuel. I think it's a great thing.
I think it's a great thing.
August 10, 2011 9:38 AM
Yes it is. Maybe it will get some of these good ole boys and their black soot belchers off the road and out of our air.
Now if they could only teach some of them to drive...
One commenter said the new trucks will cost $8-$10 thousand more. Articles I have read suggest that is not true. For tractor trailer trucks the cost would be over $6,000 more, but the fuel savings are estimated to be $73,000 over the lifetime of the truck. Seems like an economical deal to me...
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