SAN FRANCISCO – I have a dream: President Bush pushes through a grand compromise – he bucks Big Oil and Detroit by raising automobile fuel-efficiency standards, while enviros grind their teeth and support oil drilling in the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge.
That dream was interrupted Thursday by the person of U.S. Energy Secretary Samuel Bodman, who was here to speak at the Commonwealth Club. He arrived just as Congress passed a 1,745-page energy bill that doesn’t do much to improve fuel efficiency but has billions of dollars in tax breaks for energy companies.
I’ve clung to this dream because raising fuel efficiency would reduce American demand for oil, while opening up ANWR would increase oil supply. Both measures would make America, which imports 58 percent of its oil, more energy independent.
Bodman, however, wasn’t too interested in pushing hard for four-wheel fuel efficiency. The administration is concerned, he told me in an interview, about “the unintended consequences of increasing the CAFE (Corporate Average Fuel Economy) standards on light vehicles” – to wit, that higher CAFE standards could cause manufacturers to make lighter, and hence less safe, vehicles.
To my CAFE/ANWR proposal specifically, Bodman responded, “Your trade-off – does it make sense? Sure, you get A, and you give up B, and does that sort of thing make sense? Well, if you were going to make the change that you suggest, first of all you’d have to add an additional feature if you’re producing vehicles that are just as safe or safer.” (In other words, first you’ve got to call for measures that can impede fuel efficiency.)
The mechanics of legislation also get in the way. Congress had a chance to call for oil-conserving CAFE standards but failed. Don’t think it is because Democrats didn’t get what they wanted: Labor-loving Dems don’t want tougher CAFE standards, either.
In fact, the Bush administration already has increased fuel-efficiency standards more than the Sierra-Club-hugging Clinton-Gore administration did. The Bushies raised the standard for light trucks, SUVs and minivans from 20.7 miles per gallon to 22.2 mpg in 2007. Small as that may sound, it’s the biggest boost in 20 years. (CAFE standards for sedans remain at the Reagan-era 27.5 mpg.)
As any environmentalist will tell you, that increase is not enough. Many Californians would agree – even if they drive gas-guzzling SUVs, while they pooh-pooh the Bush record.
Meanwhile, the Bushies know the best way to push ANWR through is to use a different type of legislation – the budget-reconciliation bill. Bodman explained, “It is included in the budget bill because it is a source of substantial income.” Better yet: “A budget bill is not subject to filibuster.”
Californians take note: Alaska isn’t the only oil-rich state. The energy bill requires an inventory of offshore oil and natural gas reserves – including off the coasts of Florida and California, which prohibit new offshore drilling.
Why not? To oppose the inventory is to oppose knowledge. Says the energy secretary: “I guess one could take the position that I don’t want to know the information. I don’t think that’s a very wise thing.” Besides, Bodman noted, “Californians have been able to take advantage of fuel that was produced by other states for years.”
Mayhap Californians don’t have the right to guzzle merrily without ponying up their share of the petrol. As energy secretary, Bodman told the Commonwealth Club, he is the guy who has to ask OPEC leaders to produce more oil. And it doesn’t help that he’s asking them to pump more while Americans refuse to touch reserves at home.
Too bad the Bushies don’t quite see this: That’s the strongest argument there is for boosting CAFE standards.
Debra Saunders is a San Francisco Chronicle columnist. Contact her by writing to saunders@sfgate.com.
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