The only debate is over how bad it will be. The Sierra Club urged President Clinton to raise the standards to 45 mpg for cars and 34 mpg for light trucks over the next ten years, something he could have done administratively until October, when the lame duck 104th Congress rescinded that authority. The impact would have been dramatic, reducing total U.S. emissions from cars and light trucks by half, or roughly as much as Japan emits in a year. But automakers have consistently opposed boosting CAFE, arguing they would have to build smaller cars with less powerful engines that the public doesn't want. It has led to the downsizing of cars, which has cost thousands of lives in traffic accidents.
Some studies say there is nothing to show that global warming is happening.
DeCicco says the industry is blowing smoke. Although Clinton failed to do anything about closing the CAFE loophole when he had the chance, he has spoken out recently on the danger of global warming. Beyond the Beltway, the vexing question is why the vast driving public has failed to see the link between fuel efficiency and global warming. The problem, he says, is that they don't understand it. They think air pollution causes global warming, and that you solve pollution problems with things like catalytic converters, not higher mpgs.