Don’t pop the champagne just yet..

Obama’s prescription for the auto industry may be too little, too late, unless more’s coming.

Viewed from one perspective, Obama’s mandate to the auto industry to come in line with California’s standard of 35 mpg average vehicle by 2016 is a bold and courageous step. However, if we look globally, many automakers have already shot past this standard and have set their sights higher, so this will not even bring the US into line with its competition. Historically we know Detroit loves to drag its feet and does nothing without being dragged kicking and screaming. If they hold true to their past lethargy and do nothing to dramatically reform their technology, this new standard may be nothing other than a death knell for the industry, in that it does not force them to go far enough.

Add to this the fact that the US is one of three hold-outs, along with Canada and New Zealand, to the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples. Signed by 144 member states, it is the first step toward the international recognition of the rights of
350 million people world-wide on the forefront of ecological destruction from oil exploration and climate change.

A CAFÉ standard of 35mpg by 2016, while a significant improvement over current standards, will not come close to meeting the necessary global reduction to meet the 350ppm atmospheric carbon threshold to avoid catastrophic climate change affecting agriculture and all coastal communities. This will require transition away from coal and oil and non-development of tar-sands and oil shale.