Putting the Law Back in Blawg

The Sierra Club Environmental Law Program (the people who brought you Sierra Club v. Cheney) has launched Greenblawg, a place where our attorneys can share thoughts, voice opinions, field responses from readers and just generally mouth off. In a recent entry, program director Pat Gallagher explains some of the rationale behind a suit challenging the Bush administration on fuel economy standards for cars and trucks.

When I dug into this case, I was amazed to find out how the MPG-setting process works. Basically, the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) obtains future production plans from the car companies, then tweaks them by adding on additional pieces of fuel-efficiency equipment until the cost of the equipment outweighs the incremental benefit of the gasoline savings. In other words, NHTSA doesn't really challenge the automakers to innovate from scratch, they just put lipstick on the gas guzzlers. Making matters worse, the agency acknowledged that the reduction of greenhouse gases would be a huge benefit in the overall cost-benefit equation, but then assigned that benefit a $0 value because they claim it is too "uncertain."

The case will go to court in early '07. Bookmark Greenblawg for regular updates on that suit and many more like it.