Eye on Washington: Fall 2007

The summer of 2007 saw heated debate over energy policy on Capitol Hill, and in the end -- finally -- signs of progress. In early August the Senate passed an historic energy bill that would raise the average fuel economy of a new car in America to 35 miles per gallon from today's 22.2 miles per gallon by the year 2020. Unfortunately, the Senate bill failed to include a renewable energy standard that would require utilities to generate 15 percent of their electricity through improved efficiency programs and renewable sources such as wind and solar -- something that's already been done at the state level in New York and California, for instance. On the flip side, the House energy bill did include a renewable energy requirement, but it left out any mandatory increase in car fuel economy.

This month, NRDC's Washington staff, with the help of activists across the country, will be talking and working with congressional staff members to make sure that the legislative package coming out of conference -- in which a joint version of the bill will be hammered out -- includes both improved fuel economy standards and renewable energy requirements. Both provisions are cornerstones of the effort to cut energy consumption and greenhouse gas pollution. Stay tuned.

Illustration by Zach Trenholm