Friday, May 28, 2010

Senate Bill Would Ban All Offshore Drilling, Raise CAFE Standard to 55 MPG

Deepwater Oil Spill

An estimated 18.65 million gallons of oil have gushed into the ocean from the Deepwater Horizon well since an explosion there killed 11 workers and destroyed a safety shutoff valve. Image via NASA.

As the nation awaits news on the success of operation "Top Kill," Vermont Senator Bernie Sanders has introduced legislation that would seek a permanent halt to offshore drilling the United States�and a drastic increase in fuel efficiency standards beyond targets already set by the Obama administration in April.

Senator Sanders praised a recently announced six-month moratorium on new drilling projects, but said that it does not go far enough. "I think a moratorium is obviously a sensible idea," Sanders told MSNBC. "I would go further�I think you need a permanent ban on the West Coast, East Coast and parts of Florida."

Senator Bernie Sanders

Senator Bernie Sanders.

But an offshore drilling ban isn't the only solution that the legislation aims to provide. Senator Sanders would like to see the United States go above and beyond Corporate Average Fuel Economy standards that will raise the average the average gas mileage of cars sold in the United States to 35.5 mpg by 2016. Sanders' Clean Coasts and Efficient Cars Act of 2010 would raise fuel economy standards to 55 mpg by 2030.

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Read More... [Source: HybridCars.com]

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