New fuel economy guidelines; SUVs included for first time

The U.S. Department of Energy and the Environmental Protection Agency have released their fuel economy guidelines for 2011 model vehicles, including — for the first time — SUVs and vans. According to the EPA’s press release, “These vehicles were not previously subject to fuel economy measurement and labeling requirements.” Which begs the question: Why in the hell haven’t SUVs and vans been included all along? Gah! Corporate ass-kissing morons …

But, I digress.

It’s no surprise hybrid cars are still tops when it comes to fuel economy, but diesels and some gasoline-only models fared well, too.

Calculate how your vehicle compares to the rest at www.FuelEconomy.gov. I’m happy to see my car is No. 2 on the list, consuming only 8.8 barrels of oil per year. Go Ford!

Wait. What? Oh. Right. That’s what this is really all about: Oil, and our addiction to it. That’s why you, too, should care about how much oil and gas your vehicles consume. Why? Because we’re addicted to the stuff and using a bunch per person. (Reminder: We can thank oil for plastic.) And, like other types of addicts, we lie, cheat, beg, steal and kill for it.

We’ve got to stop suckling the foreign oil teet, detox and figure out alternative ways to make our cars go. The end.

Further reading: ‘A coup d’etat against the carbon cronies’: chatting with Robert F. Kennedy Jr. — Grist

Remember the Pickens Plan? “Pickens” is T. Boone Pickens, a Texas oilman who’s trying to raise awareness and break our addiction to foreign oil. Here’s his take on how our little oil problem impacts national security:

Rhiannon “Rhi” Bowman is an independent journalist who contributes snarky commentary on Creative Loafing’s CLog blog four days a week in addition to writing for several other local media organizations. To learn more, click the links or follow Rhi on Twitter.

This article appears in Nov 2-8, 2010.