I thought you would be interested to see the Guest Editorial that apppeared in "The Bull's Eye", a small newspaper in Johnston, Iowa on July 18, 2001. Material for the Bull's Eye must be signed and include an address and phone number for verification. Mail to Bull's Eye, P.O. Box 292, Polk City, IA 50226; or fax to 515-984-7985; or e-mail to [log in to unmask] Jane Clark =================================================== "Fuel economy/global warming link minimal" By Aaron Putze Iowa Farm Bureau These who believe the use of trucks, sport utility vehicles and full-sized cars and sedans contributes to global warming continually advocate higher fuel mileage standards.They argue that such vehicles emit greater amounts of pollutants than more fuel-efficient vehicles. However, a closer look at the relationship between fuel economy and alleged global warming reveals that any possible link is weak at best. The Department of Transportation sets standards requiring every auto maker to meet an average fuel economy level for the entire fleet of cars or light trucks it sells annually. Separately, the Environmental Protection Agency sets emissions standards for the same vehicles -- standards that are identical for every car or light truck regardless of their fuel economy. Therefore, a Cadillac that gets 25 miles per gallon on the highway by law cannot emit any more pollution than a Geo Metro that can tally 58 miles per gallon. Any additional emissions generated by the larger vehicle must be controlled through hardware on the vehicle. The point is that the Cadillac cannot pollute more than the Geo Metro. This fact spurred the National Academy of Sciences (NAS), an independent, nonprofit reseach orgnaization, to state in a 1992 report that fuel economy improvements will not directly affect vehicle emissions. In addition, even if scientists agreed that significant global warming is occurring, cars and light trucks subject to fuel economy standards make up only 1.5 percent of all global man-made greenhouse gas emissions. A 40 percent increase in fuel economy standards would produce at most, a reduction of less than one-half of 1 percent of that portion of man-made greenhouse gasses. This reduction is so neglible that even the NAS stated that greenhouse gas emissions from the production of substitute materials used to increase fuel economy (such as aluminum) could substantially offset decreases of those emissions achieved through improved fuel economy. The NAS study concluded that while some incremental improvements in vehicle fuel economy is possible, it will not come without significant trade-offs for consumers in terms of vehicle safety, price, performance and utlity. Higher fuel economy standards will continue to be discussed by some as a way to curb global warming. The facts show however, that such an argument may not be valid. - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - For SC email list T-and-C, send: GET TERMS-AND-CONDITIONS.CURRENT to [log in to unmask]