WASHINGTON, DC, January 26, 2009 (ENS) - "This moment of peril must be turned to one of progress," President Barack Obama said this morning, as he signed his first two Presidential Memoranda, both aimed at getting the United States on the path to energy independence.
In what he called "a down payment on a broader and sustained effort to reduce our dependence on foreign oil," the president directed the Department of Transportation to establish higher fuel efficiency standards for carmakers' 2011 model year.
The standard, known as Corporate Average Fuel Economy, or CAFE, standard, was established in 1975 in the wake of the Arab oil embargo. In model year 1990, the passenger car standard was amended to 27.5 miles per gallon, and it has remained at this level. In 2007, new light truck standards of 22.2 mpg were issued.
The second memo paves the way for California and 18 other states to raise tailpipe emissions standards for the greenhouse gas carbon dioxide above and beyond the national standard.
The states had repeatedly requested a waiver of weaker federal standards, but the Bush administration's Environmental Protection Agency denied the request last year, prompting a lawsuit by the states.
"Instead of serving as a partner, Washington stood in their way," President Obama said. "The days of Washington dragging its heels are over."
In what he called "a down payment on a broader and sustained effort to reduce our dependence on foreign oil," the president directed the Department of Transportation to establish higher fuel efficiency standards for carmakers' 2011 model year.
The standard, known as Corporate Average Fuel Economy, or CAFE, standard, was established in 1975 in the wake of the Arab oil embargo. In model year 1990, the passenger car standard was amended to 27.5 miles per gallon, and it has remained at this level. In 2007, new light truck standards of 22.2 mpg were issued.
The second memo paves the way for California and 18 other states to raise tailpipe emissions standards for the greenhouse gas carbon dioxide above and beyond the national standard.
The states had repeatedly requested a waiver of weaker federal standards, but the Bush administration's Environmental Protection Agency denied the request last year, prompting a lawsuit by the states.
"Instead of serving as a partner, Washington stood in their way," President Obama said. "The days of Washington dragging its heels are over."
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