Americans Want Cars to get 60 MPG

According to a survey released on May 16, 2011, a solid majority of Americans want vehicles that are much more fuel efficient. The Consumer Federation of America (CFA) said its survey of 2,000 Americans found strong support for a government mandate of 60 miles a gallon by 2025. As reported in USA Today, “Cars would cost more, but respondents said they'd be willing to pay more as long as the higher purchase costs could be recouped in gas savings in 5 years.”

“Concern about volatile gasoline prices and support for higher standards is driven by the huge and rising bite gas expenditures are taking from household budgets—from less than $2000 in 2009 to more than $3000 this year,” said Mark Cooper, CFA’s research director and energy expert in a press release. “Pain at the pump, along with the country’s oil import dependence, has produced a growing consensus that the federal government should substantially increase fuel economy standards.”

CFA received the data from a poll by Opinion Research Corp, which shows that “62 percent of Americans support a federal mandate requiring automakers to meet a 60 mpg standard by 2025, a proposal the Obama administration is considering,” reports the Detroit News. “The fuel efficiency mandate already is scheduled to rise to 35 mpg by 2016 from 27.5 mpg for cars today.”

Government mandates will push automakers towards greener more fuel efficient vehicles like hybrids and fully electric cars. All the major automakers are already launching hybrid vehicles and fully electric cars are sure to follow. According to the CFA study, the general public appears to welcome the move. "We're talking about changing the trajectory of consumption," Cooper said. "The consumer is ready."

© 2011, Richard Matthews. All rights reserved.

Related Posts
GM CEO Calls for Gas Tax Rather than a Fuel Efficiency Mandate
Consumer Groups Push for a US Vehicle Standard of 60 mpg by 2025
End Fossil Fuel Subsidies
The Value of Electric Vehicle Subsidies
Independence Day 2010: Declaration of Freedom from Fossil Fuels
Two More Reasons to Move Beyond Fossil Fuels
Peak Oil
The Economic Calamity of Peak Oil
Planning a Future Without Oil

Read More»

Consumer Groups Push for a US Vehicle Standard of 60 mpg by 2025

Consumer groups want to see US vehicle fleet standard of 60 mpg by 2025. This point was made at a recent teleconference event held by the Consumer Federation of America, a nonprofit association of nearly 300 consumer groups, and by Consumer Action, which is a network of more than 8,000 community-based organizations.

As reported in the LA Times, Mark Cooper, research director for the Consumer Federation of America cited a May 16, 2011 report (PDF) which indicated that 87% of respondents said they want reduced dependence on oil, 85% said they are fed up about prices, and 75% said they want higher-mileage vehicles.

"Pain at the pump, along with the country's oil-import dependence, has produced a growing consensus that the federal government should substantially increase fuel-economy standards. And among independent technical experts, there is a growing consensus that committed car companies could meet these higher standards," Cooper said.

Click here to sign a petition to make 60 mpg the standard for new vehicles by 2025.

© 2011, Richard Matthews. All rights reserved.

Related Posts
ISO Standards and Greener Vehicles
America's New Fuel Efficiency Standards
ISO 50001 Energy Management Standard
The Renewable Energy Standard
Republican Opposition to Obama's Clean Energy Standard
The EPA Proposes Cleaner Air
EPA's Proposed Rule to Regulate Emissions

Read More»

Standards are Required to Combat Eco-label and Eco-Certification Confusion

With the plethora of competing green claims it is imperative that we develop industry specific standards. There are a wide range of eco-labels and eco-certification approaches, they include self-managed or third-party-managed: verified in-house or independently verified and/or certified; based on the product life cycle or a single attribute; available for single or multiple sectors and product categories; and designed to demonstrate environmental leadership, relative performance, or just provide information.

It is becoming increasingly important for consumers and institutional buyers to know if a product or service is truly green.

Producers use eco-labels and eco-certification to validate green claims, guide green purchasing, and improve environmental performance standards. According to a 2007 USDA report, eco-labels in organic food products and forestry practices have grown at 20-30% per year since the late 1990s and early 2000s.

A report titled Global Ecolabel Monitor 2010, Towards Transparency (PDF), was produced by Ecolabel Index, the largest global database of ecolabels, in collaboration with the World Resources Institute. The report provides a snapshot of eco-label transparency, including the results of a survey of 340 eco-labels from 42 countries, conducted between the fourth quarter of 2009 and the first quarter of 2010.

The report indicates that demand for products with eco-labels is growing, although confusion about which companies are truly environmentally responsible persists. A 2009 UK Carbon Trust study indicated that 44% of UK consumers want more information on what companies are doing to be green, but 70% do not feel confident about identifying which companies are environmentally responsible.

Several large companies and government agencies have recently announced or improved their green- or eco-purchasing policies, notably Wal-Mart, Office Depot, Mars, Dow, Dell and the US Federal Government. In order to meet their policies, these large-scale institutional purchasers need standards, detailed information, and proof that a product is green.

With differing criteria as to what constitutes green, eco-labels are lacking the credibility they require to be effective. According to a European market research study (OECD, 2006), marketing, consumer confusion and competition between similar schemes has caused low market penetration for some ecolabels.

Eco-labels and eco-certification can provide an effective baseline and encourage best practices and guidelines but only if we first develop industry specific standards.
_________________________________

Related Posts
ISO 14020 Series: 3 Types of Environmental Labels and Declarations
ISO Principles for Environmental Labels and Claims
The History and Value of Environmental Labeling
Canadian Guidelines on Environmental Claims
Organic Standards and Certified Labels
ISO 50001 Energy Management Standard
The Implications of ISO 50001 for Your Business
ISO Standards and Greener Vehicles
ISO 14001 Certification in the Solar Sector
Cititec ISO Environmental Management
G3 Guidelines and GRI Sustainability Reporting
Best Practices for Sustainable Businesses

Read More»

Green Marketing Legislation

Companies are being held accountable by an increasingly well informed public. In response, governments are enacting laws to protect the environment. Under these laws corporations are being successfully prosecuted.

In Canada, the Competition Bureau and Canadian Standards Association are planning to release new guidelines on the use of environmental terms. In the wake of a plethora of consumer complaints, eco-friendly statements will have to be supported by data. In the U.S., the Federal Trade Commission is reviewing its guidelines for environmental marketing (Green Guides). And the E.U. has adopted a substantial and diverse range of environmental measures aimed at improving the quality of the environment.

In response to these changes and to add value and protect the integrity of their brands, corporations are increasingly implementing Green protocols that meet or exceed the requirements of environmental legislation. However, this can be an involved undertaking, particularly for small business. The complexity of compliance issues related to the U.S. Clean Water Act effectively illustrates this point. Adhering to environmental legislation can prove daunting, and the costs of compliance can be burdensome.

In the U.S., Canada and the E.U., present and forthcoming environmental and marketing legislation provides basic operating guidelines and product standards. These legal guidelines and standards protect and reinforce the integrity of Green brands. But there is a cost associated with compliance. In the U.S., it is estimated that the cost of clean air compliance is between $25 and $50 billion each year. However, compliant corporations can leverage a sustainable marketing position with a broad consumer appeal.

For more detailed information and specific legislation see the COMPLIANCE section in the newly expanded GREEN LINK LIBRARY.

Read More»