It's the latest in President Obama's push to address climate change without waiting on Congress. (Via The White House)
"I said this would be a year of action, and I meant it. ... Let me say this: The goal we're setting is ambitious. But these are areas where ambition has worked out really well for us so far." (Via MSNBC)
Tuesday the president ordered federal agencies to issue fuel-efficiency standards for medium- and heavy-duty trucks by March 2016.
According to the White House, those trucks — including buses, pickups, and garbage trucks — only make up 4 percent of all vehicles on the road but account for a quarter of all U.S. greenhouse gas emissions. (Via YouTube / emd645e3c)
The administration projects the country will save about 530 million barrels from standards already set in 2011 — and it wants to build on that. (Via The White House)
And while Obama has the support of environmental groups on this one, the new standards are likely to only further frustrate car and truck manufacturers.
As The New York Times reports, they have heavily lobbied against tougher fuel standards, warning they could reduce safety and increase vehicle prices.
The new fuel standards are a continuation of the Obama's so-called "Year of Action." During his State of the Union address, he vowed to take action on his agenda with or without Congress — which, as CNN's Dana Bash explains, hasn't gone over well with the GOP. (Via The White House)
"This is exactly why we have trouble convincing our rank and file to do anything with the president because it's hard to convince the compromise base that compromise is even doable — that's the Republican line."
Last week the president unveiled a $1 billion climate change fund to help communities prepare for extreme weather and the effects of climate change.
