"Wall Street Journal" columnist Joseph White predicts that the energy/emissions debate will soon shift to another piece of jargon: vehicle miles traveled (VMT). And for good reason.
The new CAFE standard was hard won by environmentalists.
But its impact on fossil-fuel dependency and emissions will actually be quite modest. Far more effective--and immediate--will be reducing the total number of miles Americans drive. Between 1977 and 2001, those miles jumped by about 151% a year--five times faster than the growth in population, according to the Department of Transportation. Suburbanization, highway planning and a lack of political clout for public transportation are the chief culprits. The fact is that many Americans live 15 miles or more away from where they work and shop. A car is the only way to get there. Urban sprawl won't be turned around quickly. But there are other ways to curb VMT.
Next year Congress is scheduled to debate a massive bill to fund transportation projects with the gasoline tax. Fresh from their victory over the new CAFE standard, various environmental groups are gearing up to force a hike in the tax for funding mass transportation projects and to impose land use rules for denser housing.
Sources: Wall Street Journal, National Resources Defense Council, Urban Land Institute
