I haven't been paying a lot of attention to what the presidential candidates have been saying lately. It's way too early in the campaign, and I suspect that much of what's being said is just being said for effect–the effect it can have on fundraising. Money talks, you know.

Here's a great case in point:

Today's Washington Post offered a story titled Obama Makes Push For Fuel Efficiency. His audience? The Detroit Economic Club. The real message: I can help you ease your pain.

Obama proposed that the government pay for 10 percent of domestic automakers' health-care costs for retired workers through 2017 if the firms plow half the savings into equipment for making more efficient cars and trucks. Obama's campaign estimates that this would cost taxpayers roughly $7 billion over the next 10 years.

In addition, Obama proposed tax incentives for retooling auto assembly plants and the extension of tax credits for hybrid vehicles beyond the current 60,000-cars-per-manufacturer limit. His campaign put the 10-year cost of his plan at $20 billion and said it would be covered by auctioning greenhouse gas permits under a cap-and-trade program that Obama also supports.

Hmmm … reads more like an appeal for support (money) than a concrete and aggressive plan to improve fuel efficiency. In fact, nowhere in the Post article could I find any specific reference to how much of an improvement in Corporate Average Fuel Economy (CAFE) standards Obama proposed.

I had to follow the links to a Denver Post story to find the details:

To start, his plan calls for raising American fuel-economy standards by 4 percent each year, adding about 1 mile per gallon.

Passenger cars currently must meet a fleetwide average of 27.5 miles per gallon, while the standard for SUVs, pickups and vans is 22.2 mpg.

The Bush administration has set a similar goal of increasing the standards by 4 percent each year.

Obama's advancing a fuel efficiency plan that mirrors the current administration's goals doesn't sound like we're making much progress here, does it?

Carbon Neutral Journal's thoughts are brought to you by Hawtin Jorgensen Architects.

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