Posted on 04/06/2006 7:20:02 PM PDT by NormsRevenge
An environmental group asked for a court review Thursday of tighter gas mileage rules for pickups and sport utility vehicles that many conservationists said do not go far enough in limiting greenhouse gas emissions.
The federal government set the new standards last week in response to rising concern about the supply and cost of energy from abroad. The rules, covering 2008 through 2011, would save 10.7 billion gallons of fuel over the lifetime of the vehicles sold during that period, officials said.
The Tucson, Ariz.-based Center for Biological Diversity filed a one-page petition Thursday asking the 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals to review the decision.
Deborah Sivas, director of Stanford University's Environmental Law Clinic, which is representing the center, said the government did not adequately consider whether tighter standards would have been a greater boon for the environment. She also said the new rules would not adequately protect endangered species.
The National Highway Transportation Safety Administration, which released the new rules last week, had no comment on the pending litigation. But agency spokesman Ray Tyson said they were first submitted for public comment in September.
"It was a very transparent process," he said. "We allowed anyone to comment who wanted to. We took those comments into consideration."
The new regulations followed President Bush's declaration in January that the U.S. is "addicted to oil," and his call for a 75 percent reduction in Mideast oil imports by 2025. Manufacturers will begin implementing the rules as average gas prices exceed $2.50 a gallon and many consumers are seeking more fuel-efficient vehicles such as hybrids and flexible-fuel pickups and SUVs.
Federal officials said the plan was devised with the environment, jobs and costs in mind at a time when U.S. automakers, notably General Motors Corp. and Ford Motor Co., have outlined plans to reduce their work force to deal with shrinking market share, higher costs for labor and raw materials and intense competition from Asian competitors.
I just bought a performance car (2002 model) that actually paid a gas guzzler tax when it was imported!
Darn well worth it. It sometimes gets better mileage than the old Suburban! (Of course, compared to the Suburban, it doesn't haul much besides a$$).
Looks like Dr. Osama Rob-bin Silver of Tempe and Keran Suckling of Tucson are speading their annoyance beyond Picking on Ft. Huachuca.
ping
Oh great, the Ninth Circus is going to look at it.
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