Moving America forward

Wednesday, Oct. 27, 2010 | 2:01 a.m.

With Congress at odds over efforts to curb greenhouse gases, the Obama administration has been forging ahead with a “bite-size” approach.

As The New York Times reported, the White House made two important announcements Monday about its efforts. First, it released its proposed emissions and fuel-economy standards for heavy vehicles, which call for less pollution and increased efficiency. Second, the administration announced the approval of a large solar project on federal land outside Blythe, Calif.

Taken together, these two developments are examples of how U.S. energy policy should be moving — while the country works to curb its use of foreign oil, it is developing new energy sources.

The Obama administration worked with industry groups to develop the proposed emissions and fuel efficiency standards, and came up with a plan that provides realistic goals for specific types of vehicles, including buses, tractor-trailers and heavy pickup trucks. The standards, which will go through a public-comment period, follow the government’s action on rules adopted for passenger cars and light trucks.

Considering that buses and long-haul trucks, which can go 100,000 miles a year, are among the most inefficient vehicles on the road, higher standards are important. And they will help consumers.

Lisa Jackson, the Environmental Protection Agency administrator, said the proposed rules would save the nation $41 billion “and much of it will stay home in the U.S. economy rather than paying for imported oil.”

The $6 billion solar plant near Blythe is expected to provide 1,000 megawatts of clean energy to the nation’s supply. (It is also expected to create more than 1,000 jobs during construction and 300 during operation.) The plant and five others approved for federal land could provide enough energy for 2 million homes. That means there will be less reliance on polluting fossil fuels and foreign fuel sources.

Hopefully, these two announcements are a sign of momentum in the nation’s energy policy. However, over the past year there have been some conservative candidates and lawmakers who have either attacked the president’s plan or ignored the importance of it. That has been apparent in Congress, where Republicans have tried to block efforts to improve the country’s energy policy and diversify with renewable power plants.

They apparently would rather the country stay in the status quo, burning fossil fuels. What they miss or ignore is the fact that this is an issue of national security because America’s dependence on foreign oil is a weakness — it puts the country in reliance to other nations.

The Obama administration should be commended for its strong steps to help the country not only clean up the air and save money but also free America from the influence of foreign oil.