So how much will Obama's 35mpg diktat actually cost?

[jimpeel]

It seems that the cost of the loss may far exceed the cost of the savings.

SOURCE

CAFE Obama: Proposed mileage standards would kill more Americans than Iraq War
May 19, 2009

The Obama administration’s proposed mileage standards that will be announced today may kill more Americans at a faster rate than the Iraq War — his signature issue in the 2008 presidential campaign.

Obama’s standards will require automakers to meet a 35 miles-per-gallon standard by 2016 — four years earlier than the same standard imposed by the Energy Security and Independence Act of 2007.

As discussed in my new book Green Hell, the only way for carmakers to meet these standard is to make smaller, lighter and deadlier cars.

The National Academy of Sciences has linked mileage standards with about 2,000 deaths per year. The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration estimates that every 100-pound reduction in the weight of small cars increases annual traffic fatalities by as much as 715.

In contrast in the more than six years since the Iraq war began, there have been 4,296 deaths among American military personnel.

And what will be gained by the new mileage standards?

The Natural Resources Defense Council said that the 35 MPG standard would save about one million gallons of gas per day. So how does that savings balance against the 2,000 fatalities per year that the National Academy of Sciences says are caused by those same lighter cars?

For the sake of being utilitarian, if the price of gas were $5 per gallon that would translate to daily savings of $5 million. Is that savings worth killing more than five people per day, plus other non-fatal injuries and property damage?

The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency -– for the purposes of risk assessment -– values a single human life at $6.9 million dollars. So under the new mileage standards, it would cost about $35 million per day in human lives (not including non-fatal injuries) to save $5 million in gas.

There’s also another lesson hidden in the proposed standards — one that applies to businesses trying to game global warming legislation.

Carmakers lobbied hard against overly stringent mileage standards in the 2007 energy bill, finally negotiating with Congress a compromise standard they thought they at least had a chance to meet. President Obama has now pulled the rug out from under the carmakers and their 2007 deal.

This ought to serve as a lesson for businesses trying to negotiate a climate deal they think (hope) they can survive. Rest assured that as soon as business groups agree to a climate deal, the greens and the Obama administration will go to work the next day figuring out ways to bulldoze the deal in order to make greenhouse gas limitations more stringent and more expensive.

Businesses often operate under the mis-impression that they can cut lasting, win-win compromises with environmental groups on public policy. But such dealing is an impossibility since the greens are ideologically driven and won’t be happy until capitalism is stamped out. The greens are not interested in compromise. Like blood in the water to sharks, compromise by businesses signals its weakness and vulnerability, and, therefore, opportunity for the greens.

This entry was posted on May 19, 2009 at 10:43 am and is filed under Cost of Green.

 

[2minkey]

it's GONNA KILL US ALL!!!!!!!

 

[Dave]

The author is being alarmist to sell books.
Weight reduction isn't the only way to improve mileage.
Diesel motors can easily get that type of mileage. The problem is the supply infrastructure.

 

[2minkey]

The problem is the supply infrastructure.

+1

 

[jimpeel]

The author is being alarmist to sell books.
Weight reduction isn't the only way to improve mileage.
Diesel motors can easily get that type of mileage. The problem is the supply infrastructure.

You mean the part where the Congress prevents the oil companies from building more refineries and drilling in more places here in the United States?

 

[Dave]

You mean the part where the Congress prevents the oil companies from building more refineries and drilling in more places here in the United States?

No. I mean a physical lack of diesel pumps at the vast majority of filling stations.

 

[Gonz]

Say what? I've NEVER seen a gas station that didn't include at least one diesel pump per row.

 

[2minkey]

well i've seen plenty of them.

 

[Dave]

Say what? I've NEVER seen a gas station that didn't include at least one diesel pump per row.

Really? In my area, I know of 2. One is around the corner from me, the other is on the highway about 10 miles away.

 

[jimpeel]

No. I mean a physical lack of diesel pumps at the vast majority of filling stations.

Do you get out much? Every station in this berg has a diesel hose at every pump. If they didn't, there are a couple of truck stops at the highway.

 

[jimpeel]

Really? In my area, I know of 2. One is around the corner from me, the other is on the highway about 10 miles away.

Unlike gasoline, Diesel can be stored for long periods without the necessity for additives and stabilizers. You could bring home a couple of Jerry cans of diesel when you drive out to the highway. Innovation, m' boy, innovation ...

 

[Inkara1]

Say what? I've NEVER seen a gas station that didn't include at least one diesel pump per row.

It seems to be somewhere between 1/3 and 1/2 of the stations here that have diesel #2 available.

 

[2minkey]

it really depends on where you live. in indiana and colorado they prolly sell diesel at lingerie stores.

 

[Gato_Solo]

See...I have a serious problem with this scenario. In order to actually sell a car that gets good MPG, you have to make such vehicle a viable choice. The only way to do that is to increase the cost of driving so that the choice is palatable. Congress will not raise taxes on gasoline, so people will continue to buy the gas guzzlers until the prices go up to over $3.00 a gallon again.

 

[jimpeel]

See...I have a serious problem with this scenario. In order to actually sell a car that gets good MPG, you have to make such vehicle a viable choice. The only way to do that is to increase the cost of driving so that the choice is palatable. Congress will not raise taxes on gasoline, so people will continue to buy the gas guzzlers until the prices go up to over $3.00 a gallon again.

I don't give a shit if the price goes to $6.00 / gal I am not getting rid of my truck. It is paid for and even if I have to put $200 / mo in the tank it will be less than the note, increased insurance costs, cost of repairs, and licensing fees associated with buying a new car.

Fuck the mileage. I want comfort and utility and I'm willing to pay for it.

 

[Gato_Solo]

I don't give a shit if the price goes to $6.00 / gal I am not getting rid of my truck. It is paid for and even if I have to put $200 / mo in the tank it will be less than the note, increased insurance costs, cost of repairs, and licensing fees associated with buying a new car.

Fuck the mileage. I want comfort and utility and I'm willing to pay for it.

Which changes my statement, how?

 

[2minkey]

nothing, but it was a brilliant and forceful stand he took, wudn't it?

 

[chcr]

See...I have a serious problem with this scenario. In order to actually sell a car that gets good MPG, you have to make such vehicle a viable choice. The only way to do that is to increase the cost of driving so that the choice is palatable. Congress will not raise taxes on gasoline, so people will continue to buy the gas guzzlers until the prices go up to over $3.00 a gallon again.

 

[Cerise]

Saudi Arabian Oil Minister Naimi Says Oil to Reach $75 a Barrel

May 23 (Bloomberg) -- Saudi Arabian oil minister Ali al- Naimi said the price of oil will climb to $75 a barrel when demand picks up.

“We’ll get there eventually,” al-Naimi told reporters in Rome today where he will attend meetings with energy ministers from the Group of Eight industrialized nations. “The trick is keeping it between $70 and $80. It will be achieved as demand rises and the fundamentals are better than they are now.”

Drill here, drill now!

 

[randomJACKASS]

Which changes my statement, how?

[theory]He very strongly suspects he is the second coming of God almighty, and when he is almost positive that back when created all this planet that he made the heating and air conditioning a constant until the peoples should no longer need this planet. So then he did SHITLOADS of research on global warming online, and when it pretty much jived with his suspiscions, he figured that; Ford created truck, truck good, all peoples should always be able to have better and better and bigger and bigger truck without limitations![/theory]

So, da gov'ment, need to be a stayin out o' his way, and be lettin' F.O.R.D make fine big ol' pickups f'rever!