Green house gas standard, what a way to go!

With economic conditions in the nation unclear, the choice of a green house standard for automobile building is probably the boldest step taken by the Obama Administration. The Federal government is demonstrating that it can command respect from probably two unlikely friends: the environmentalist and automobile manufactures. Even with probably a declining industry, the automobile builders are supporting a new direction for their industry and American economy. Desired changes in how cars and trucks are built henceforth is coming from within the automobile industry, the State and Federal Governments. We now appreciate the effort of the State of California in striving to institute a higher standard for carbon emission reduction in trucks and cars built to run on their roads. Like in other progressive issues, the State of California, while not the most favorite state in the Union in terms of budget management, has made remarkable effort to lead the way in cutting down on carbon emission in their State.

When a survey was taken about four or five years ago in Washington State regarding regional mass transit, the automobile industry fired up a campaign to kill the initiative. Many supporters of the mass transit initiative were nearly cowed into submission. The automobile industry was more concerned about sale of cars and trucks than the issues of associated air pollution. In their usual fashion, the Automobile industry fought hard, invested heavily in financial lobbying to help set back progressive initiatives similar to what has now become a national standard for the nation : A National Policy to help increase gas mileage of all cars and trucks driven in the United States and cut down on green house gas emissions.

Today, for the first time, we now have folks and groups, who have once fought heavy battles to preserve their turfs and in some cases dragged each other to the courts for gigantic legal battles, submit to common sense in our nation’s effort to build a public policy that will help us build better and more efficient cars, reduce green house gas emission level, solve our pressing energy consumption problem and keep the public engaged in a green energy economy. Further, we are finding that we can work together to support a national standard that benefits our environment, provide a clear certainty that automobile builders can thrive when they build more fuel efficient car, invest to reduce gas emission level, and end our dependency on oil and carbon-based economy. With this policy in place, it will be possible not only for environmental and automobile engineers to work together in building better cars and future, but also politicians from both aisles of American Politics to support a greener economy, thriving green jobs and clean energy economy.