Recent Streetsblog SF posts about Fuel Efficiency/MPG

National Fuel Efficiency Standards Could Require 62 MPG Within 15 Years

By Matthew Roth | Oct 1, 2010 | 11 Comments

The Obama administration got a lot of attention earlier this year when it raised fuel efficiency rules to an average 35 miles per gallon across the nation’s fleet of automobiles that will be produced between 2012 and 2016. Now the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA), a division of […]

Obama Adviser: If EPA is Blocked on Emissions, Forget About CAFE Deal

By Elana Schor | Feb 23, 2010 | 3 Comments

Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) chief Lisa Jackson extended an olive branch this week to lawmakers who are pushing to block her from regulating carbon emissions in the absence of a congressional climate bill, but Jackson’s promise to delay action until next year appears to have made no headway with Republicans and coal-state Democrats. Carol Browner, […]

The Gas Tax Versus a VMT Tax: Is ‘All of the Above’ an Option?

By Elana Schor | Feb 10, 2010 | 15 Comments

(Chart: Oregon DOT) The prospect of an eventual move away from the gas tax and towards a fee on vehicle miles traveled (VMT) has sparked consternation from some well-known bloggers this week, with Matt Yglesias asserting that "a VMT [tax] has no advantages whatsoever over higher gasoline taxes" and Andrew Samwick suggesting that declining fuel […]

GOPers Re-Name the Climate Bill Again: Now It’s a ‘Gas Tax’!

By Elana Schor | Oct 21, 2009 | 1 Comment

Seven months after first trying to re-brand congressional climate change legislation as an "energy tax," Senate Republicans were back at it today with a new report and op-ed that attempts to expose the climate bill as a "$3.6 trillion gas tax." Sen. Kay Bailey Hutchison (R-TX) (Photo: GOP Lounge) Sens. Kay Bailey Hutchison (R-TX) and […]

A Last Word on ‘Cash for Clunkers’

By Ryan Avent | Sep 2, 2009 | 2 Comments

One thing the government’s CARS program — a.k.a. "cash for clunkers" — has clearly stimulated is commentary. For a policy involving a shade under $3 billion in federal spending, it has enjoyed no shortage of media coverage. (Photo: Newsday) In part this is because the program looks like a big success, and certainly congressional leaders […]

Ed Glaeser’s Rail Fail

By Elana Schor | Aug 12, 2009 | No Comments

The story so far: Ed Glaeser recently began an effort to assess the costs and benefits of constructing high-speed rail lines at the New York Times’ Economix blog. Last week, he posted his first substantive take on the issue, an attempt to estimate direct costs and benefits from a hypothetical line between Houston and Dallas. […]

Show More Stories