The Trump administration’s intent to roll back the Environmental Protection Agency’s fleet gas mileage standards makes no sense, except if we want to increase oil company profits.
As the mother of three children who suffer from asthma, I do not want increased air pollution, which would worsen their conditions, but this is exactly what we will get if gas mileage standards are reduced.
In addition, reducing fleet standards will reduce the number of available fuel-efficient vehicles, so spending on gasoline will increase.
Individual states and areas of the country have very different levels of air pollution, so they should be able to regulate pollution in their jurisdiction by legislating fuel economy standards, as California and 13 other states currently do.
In the hottest year on record for temperatures, and with wildfires ravaging the western United States and northern Europe, we desperately need every tool at our disposal to curb the runaway emission of carbon dioxide that is increasing global temperatures. Cutting fuel efficiency standards will only intensify the effects of climate change we are already feeling. This ill-conceived plan to roll back EPA gas mileage standards should be abandoned as soon as possible.
Philippa Solomon
Readfield
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