Intense debate has focused on whether biofuels provide as much energy as they require to grow, process, and distribute. Unfortunately, most of this discussion has ignored the importance of decreasing consumption and increasing vehicle efficiency.

A simple solution: raise fuel efficiency standards.

Last month, the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) finalized new fuel efficiency estimates for labels that will be posted in the windows of all cars and light trucks. The new test methods incorporate better estimates of 'real-world' driving conditions and should make it easier for consumers to compare fuel economy estimates.

There are alternatives to creating a crop-based automotive fuel economy. The equivalent of the 2 percent of U.S. automotive fuel supplies now coming from ethanol could be achieved several times over, and at a fraction of the cost, by raising auto fuel efficiency standards by 20 percent.

-Lester R. Brown, president, Earth Policy Institute, in his latest essay.

The new fuel economy standards make several important changes to old methods. First, testing will now be vehicle specific. Surprisingly enough, the EPA has based fuel-efficiency estimates on "across-the-board adjustments, rather than by vehicle-specific testing". Additionally, the EPA relied on two laboratory tests for determining fuel efficiency, methods that were last updated in 1984. The older methods did not use accessories (like A/C), had maximum speeds of 60 miles per hour, and an average speed of only 48 miles per hour! In releasing these new standards, the EPA rightly assumed their old estimates of driving speed were "generally lower than those used by drivers in the real world." The new methods will now incorporate "high speeds, quicker accelerations, air conditioning use, and driving in cold temperatures." As an added bonus, the EPA will now require labelling on heavy vehicles such as larger SUVs and vans (over 8500 lbs). Mileage estimates are expected to drop for most vehicles by 12-30% (city) and 8-25% (highway) due to the newer methods. The mileage for gasoline-electric hybrids, whose battery packs and other sophisticated parts may be more sensitive to environmental conditions (like cold weather), are expected to drop by 20-30% (city) and 10-20% (highway). Stickers designs have also been updated. Each will list city and highway mpg, estimated annual fuel cost, and relative fuel economy for each vehicle. The last piece of graphical information, which may be the most useful in terms of visual representation, denotes the position of the vehicle on a linear scale from lowest fuel economy (for the vehicle type) to highest. I find this particularly appealing from a green standpoint because it highlights vehicles with very low fuel economy. The effectiveness of the labels, though, seems based more on economics than ecological conscience. Centered squarely in the graphic is a big number with a dollar sign in front of it: an estimated annual fuel cost for the vehicle. Economically-minded buyers will have a clearer picture of the annual savings higher efficiency vehicles can deliver. That's important, according to Mary Beth Stanek, the Energy Director for General Motors (From Grist):

Certainly price and performance and safety have always been very high. But fuel economy is right up there at the top for selection now.

Consciousness is, in fact, slowly changing. Unfortunately, the new labels do not include annual CO2 emission estimates, a piece of information potentially adding environmental externalities to the list of decision-making factors. The new labels as they stand will be required for all 2008 models schedule for release on September 1, 2007. Heavy vehicles such will be required to bear the labels in 2011. Kudos to the EPA for making this information accurate and available to the general public. New EPA label: http://www.epa.gov/fueleconomy/label.htm EPA Reg. Announcement: http://www.epa.gov/fueleconomy/420f06069.htm Grist interview: http://www.grist.org/news/maindish/2006/12/15/stanek/ Photo Credit: Environmental Protection Agency