The federal government issued final rules establishing the first greenhouse gas emissions standards for automobiles and light trucks on Thursday, ending a 30-year battle between regulators and automakers.
The new rules, jointly written by the Transportation Department and the Environmental Protection Agency, set emissions and mileage standards that will translate to a fleet average of 35.5 miles a gallon by 2016, nearly a 40 percent improvement over today’s fuel economy.
Officials said the program would save the owner of an average 2016 car $3,000 in fuel costs over the life of the vehicle and eliminate emissions of nearly a billion tons of climate-altering gases over the lives of the regulated vehicles. Reaching the new efficiency level will add about $1,000 to the cost of the average new car by 2016, according to industry and government estimates.
A key government agency is proposing to lessen the scope of environmental reviews for nuclear reactors,...
Super Typhoon Bavi is bringing intense winds to the remote U.S. territories of Guam and the...
Lake Powell, the US’s second-largest reservoir, threatens to plunge to unprecedentedly low levels this year after...
A “prolonged, dangerous heatwave” was sweeping across parts of the central and eastern United States on...
