General Road and Highway Discussion

[danbrotherston]

(For the record, larger vehicles like SUVs are pushed by car companies for several reasons, they are higher margins, they avoid CAFE fuel standards, they are easier to achieve a higher crash test safety rating on because they are bigger and north american safety ratings only consider vehicle occupants, this is not a preference thing, these vehicles are pushed by for profit by corporations).

This is why this kind of detailed prescription is not the best way to go. If we’d just had a gradually-increasing carbon fee/dividend since 1980, by now we would have dramatically lower emissions without all the loophole-related nonsense.

Of course, like planting a tree the second-best time is now, but we’re definitely a little late.

CAFE fuel standards aren't really about CO2 emissions. They're about fuel economy (which indirectly affects CO2 emissions, but that wasn't the motivation). My opinion is that CAFE isn't really the problem...it's that the EPA allowed the auto industry to have a loophole allowing them to avoid CAFE...a loophole that exasperated a lot of problems.

Ultimately, regulatory capture is the problem...not fuel standards.

I'm all for a broad CO2 price and restriction, but it makes sense to regulate other things directly as well (e.g., other harmful emissions...why do we allow two stroke and small four stroke engines with no emissions controls at all!)