Obama to set new heavy-duty truck emissions rules

[kscarbel]

The Detroit News / June 25, 2013

Washington — President Barack Obama unveiled a new plan Tuesday to reduce greenhouse gas emissions, including setting new fuel-efficiency standards for heavy-duty trucks after 2018, carbon emission limits for power plants and increasing use of compressed natural gas as a fuel for vehicles.

The White House in 2011 finalized first-ever fuel-efficiency standards for medium- and heavy-duty trucks. The standards call for those vehicles to reduce fuel consumption between 10 and 20 percent, depending on the design and purpose of the vehicles. The new rules, which take effect in the 2014 model year and run through 2018, are required under a 2007 energy law and will boost the efficiency of bigger vehicles up to 20 percent.

The White House says it will begin work on post-2018 fuel economy standards for heavy-duty vehicles to further reduce fuel consumption. Heavy-duty vehicles are the second-largest source of greenhouse gas emissions within the transportation sector.

Overall, the rules announced in 2011 are expected to save the industry $50 billion in fuel costs, or 530 billion barrels of oil, over that period, but will cost manufacturers $8.1 billion to build the more efficient vehicles.

Prior to the 2007 energy law, medium- and heavy-duty trucks faced no regulations, unlike light-duty vehicles subject to the Corporate Average Fuel Economy mandates.

Under the program, trucks and buses built from 2014 through 2018 will reduce greenhouse gas pollution by approximately 270 million metric tons. Certain combination tractors — commonly known as big-rigs or semi-trucks — will be required to achieve up to approximately 20 percent reduction in fuel consumption and greenhouse gas emissions by model year 2018, saving up to four gallons of fuel for every 100 miles traveled.

The White House said Obama will again call for more use of compressed natural gas by vehicles.

In April, Obama said he wants to hike the Energy Department’s vehicle research budget 75 percent to $575 million and create a $2 billion trust fund to fund research into getting the country off foreign oil over the next 10 years.

[2stacksuperdog]

This guy worries about everything except what he should be.

[theakerstwo]

you know he will hear you and if he don't there will be some one call the white house but yes your right he is worrying about every thing that ma6y be American.

[lucerne tractor]

First fact, our number one export is energy, oil, coal, natural gas. The reason for the Keystone pipeline is to get Canadian oil to China, the reason for the gas line crossing the state of Pa. to the coast is to get natural gas to China. We are enery self sufficiant.

Second fact, electrical energy plants create 40% of the polution.

Anyone with a new truck is spending their life in a repair shop, the number one answer today in a professional repair shop is "I don't know" enough is enough on trucks.

It seems out of sight, out of mind. This same dirty energy we have been burning since the industrial revolution is now still being burned "uncontrolled" in other countrys. Last I knew air travels around the globe, as does water, so aren't we doing the same thing we did in the 20's only in someone elses back yard?

How about a tarriff on companys that sell to the U.S. 1.....if you openly burn fossil fuel with no regulations to meet U.S. standards 5% tarriff on the import value, 2... child labor, or no overtime, 5% tarriff, 3......do not follow DEP rules as far as water polution 5% tarriff, unsafe working conditions, not following OSHA regulations, 5% tarriff.

Maybe then we would have a fair trade act, the biggest change in the enviroment in history, our debt cleaned from the slate and jobs coming home.

[thomastractorsvc]

I agree with you

"It seems out of sight, out of mind. This same dirty energy we have been burning since the industrial revolution is now still being burned "uncontrolled" in other countrys. Last I knew air travels around the globe, as does water, so aren't we doing the same thing we did in the 20's only in someone elses back yard?"

Also where is the scientific data that shows if we reduce our emissions that it will have any effect on what rest of the world is doing, we already have the cleanest air of any country yet we still have global warming, unless you can control all the worlds emissions there wont be any change and energy costs will drive more jobs out of this country