http://www.planetark.org/dailynewsstory.cfm?newsid=11007 Planet Ark Environmental groups wary of US fuel economy panel
USA: May 31, 2001 DETROIT - Three major environmental groups have raised doubts about the objectivity of a federal panel studying automobile fuel economy standards after it hired a consulting firm that has helped automakers fight environmental rules. But the firm denies its work is biased in favor of automakers who oppose higher federal fuel economy standards, and says it is willing to make all of its work public. The National Academy of Sciences panel has drawn increasing scrutiny after President George W. Bush said earlier this month that the administration would use the panel's report as the starting point for deliberations about whether to increase fuel economy standards. The standards of 27.5 miles per gallon for cars and 20.7 miles per gallon for pickups, vans and sport utility vehicles have been frozen for years by opposition from automakers. The actual average fuel economy of new U.S. vehicles has fallen slowly since the 1980s as automakers sold more pickups and SUVs. In a letter dated Tuesday, the groups - the Sierra Club, Environmental Defense and the U.S. Public Interest Research Group - said they were concerned that the panel has hired Sierra Research, a California-based firm, to provide data on the costs of fuel economy improvements. "This firm has a track record of working closely for, and with, the auto industry in its effort to block or weaken environmental standards," the letter states. "Simply put, utilizing a consulting firm so closely tied to the industry in this manner jeopardizes the independence of the panel's advice and recommendations." The groups and other environmentalists have expressed doubts about the panel's objectivity since it was formed earlier this year. None of the panel's 13 members has the full endorsement of environmental groups, while several members have publicly denounced fuel economy standards in the past. A similar effort by an NAS panel in 1992 criticized the government's fuel economy standards as "deeply flawed" and argued for a more free-market approach. Five of that panel's members also serve on the new committee. "We are concerned that this new academy panel is backtracking on what can be done and will come out with a very pessimistic assessment of where the technology is and what it will cost," said Daniel Becker, the Sierra Club's director of global warming research. FROM ALL SIDES Automakers contend higher fuel economy standards would eat into already thin profits while doing little to brake growing American demand for gasoline. Environmentalists respond that automakers could easily raise the average fuel economy of new vehicles by 40 percent in a decade at a cost of a few hundred dollars per vehicle. Sierra Research confirmed it had been retained by the panel but denies it has any bias, saying it has worked for companies on all sides of the fuel economy debate, including the Sierra Club. Tom Austin, a senior partner with the firm, said while it does have a relationship with automakers, it also often works for federal and state environmental agencies. "We're not in the pocket of any company or industry," Austin said. "We wouldn't have the range of clients we do if we weren't doing anything but honest, high-quality technical work." The letter cites testimony Austin gave in a lawsuit indicating the firm gets about 25 percent of its income from automakers. It also said Sierra Research "vastly over-estimated" the cost to automakers of meeting environmental standards in California. Austin said the company's estimates in some of those cases were high, but in others the estimates were verified by other researchers. And he said the company worked with automakers only on cases where they agreed on goals, such as opposing California rules requiring zero-emission vehicles. "In cases like that, it doesn't trouble us a bit, because they're not wrong," he said. "When they are wrong we don't work for them." The panel's report, now nearing a final draft stage, is expected to be delivered in July. The environmental groups want any Sierra Research data and testimony to be made public, and asked for the opportunity to respond. Austin said he had no problem with the request. The National Academy of Sciences did not immediately return calls seeking comment. Story by Justin Hyde REUTERS NEWS SERVICE Biofuel at Journey to Forever: http://journeytoforever.org/biofuel.html Please do NOT send "unsubscribe" messages to the list address. To unsubscribe, send an email to: [EMAIL PROTECTED] Your use of Yahoo! Groups is subject to http://docs.yahoo.com/info/terms/
