Our government claims to desire a decreased dependence on foreign oil. I say that they are either lying or are incapable of simple math. Currently, the U.S. imports roughly 54 percent of its oil. I fail to see how our dependence is decreased by adopting a “do nothing” attitude towards fuel efficiency in transportation, the most oil intensive sector by a large margin in the U.S. economy. U.S. oil wells are capable of producing just a touch under four billion barrels of oil per year (give or take a tanker truck). That number is not likely to change very much (though it is decreasing over time thus predicating an inevitable increase in oil imports), the variable is essentially our imported oil. Therefore, it stands to reason that if we continue producing from our own wells at a constant rate (which we really can’t do, but bear with me) and if we use less total oil ... we therefore must reduce our imported oil. I could get a third grader to do the math for me, but apparently policy makers are a little rusty on the concepts of arithmetic.

As if a “do diddly-squat” position weren’t bad enough, an amendment was also posed by Representative Miller from Georgia that would exempt light trucks from all future federal fuel efficiency mandates. Light trucks are currently held to a 20.5 miles per gallon standard, which is about seven mpg lower than passenger cars. Light trucks are also responsible for about 20 percent of car sales and carbon emissions in the U.S. Clearly this is a huge market. One remark by Miller really bothered me in particular, though. He said, “more problems have been solved on the tailgate of a pickup truck than anywhere else.” Having spent several years living in the south, I understand where he is coming from. Unfortunately, he appears to have left his truck running a little too long and has managed to kill off a few too many brain cells sitting on his tailgate.

So, in summary, fuel standards are not going to be increased (look forward to those summertime gas-hikes/campaign contributions you will be adding to your gas tank). You can also plan on seeing an increase in tailgate parties over the upcoming warmer months, as great philosophers and government think tanks all try to cash in on Representative Miller’s newfound “Tailgate Zen.” By the way, I just saw a proposal sent to the physics department at RPI entitled, “Tailgate Test Taking for Quantum Physics Students.” This is getting out of hand.

For more information, please feel free to visit the website for the Union of Concerned Scientists (www.ucs.org). There are many other places to find the same information but this seems to sum things up nicely.

Editor’s note: The views expressed in this column do not necessarily reflect those of The Polytechnic, its staff, or the Rensselaer Union.