Editor's Note: Today we welcome Olivier Lewis to the writing team. Olivier writes out of Bethlehem Pennsylvania, and will be covering current events, US campus activism and undersea pollution amongst other things. Welcome Olivier!

The gasoline mileage of US cars has remained the same for almost three decades, according to The Economist. In an October article entitled Sticker Shock, new cars in the US were said to average 20 miles per American gallon, the same as in 1980.

However this similarity is only visible when consumption is measured per car – opposed to per tonnage.

The average was difficult to compare to past decades because the US Environmental Protection Agency used the per ton measurement. US engines are getting more efficient every year. But air conditioning and other added amenities, which were not prevalent in past decades, hamper efficiency, according to another Economist article this month.

SUVs are still popular in the US, although their success seems to be declining since oil prices soared after hurricane Katrina.

The EPA is now using the per vehicle measurement. Why the change? Mostly because consumers complained the measurements did not represent the actual, real-life consumption.

Although US cars and trucks are far from European averages, hope is in sight.

According to the NY Times, the US senate passed “a landmark increase in fuel-economy standards for vehicles and a huge boost for alternative fuels...” In an article entitled Industry Flexes Muscles, Weaker Energy Bill Passes, the Senate now asks company fleets to average 35 miles per American gallon – measured per car.

In a separate NY Times article, US President George Bush said he would veto the bill if the Senate did not take out a statement that relinquished previously granted oil companies big tax cuts. The Senate complied because it did not have enough votes to override the veto.

... a $13 billion tax increase on oil companies and a requirement that utilities nationwide produce 15 percent of their electricity from renewable sources were left on the floor to secure Republican votes for the package. - NY Times

A Times editorial, nevertheless, applauded the bill:

Even so, the bill, as it now stands, contains not only the new fuel standards, which is a huge step forward, but also generous incentives for energy efficiency, for cleaner alternative fuels and for the new technologies that will be required to reduce the country’s output of greenhouse gases. By almost any measure, it is the most important energy bill that Congress has entertained in many years. - NY Times

New York's taxis may shift to hybrids

Now it is up to US states, companies and citizens, at least until a new, cooperative US president is elected.

Here is one example. According to a NYT article from Dec. 12:

[New York's] Taxi and Limousine Commission adopted a rule on Tuesday that will require all cabs purchased after Oct. 1, 2008, to get at least 25 miles per gallon.

Cabs bought after fall 2009 will have to get 30 miles per gallon.

The new rule will mean that taxi fleet owners, who must replace their cabs every three to five years, will probably be forced to buy fuel-efficient hybrids, which run partly on electricity. - NY Times