States National Academy of Sciences detailed the impact that increasing carbon dioxide in the atmosphere would have on future generations. Around this same time, President’s Nixon and Carter were promising the American public that we would be free or foreign oil by the 1980s and legislation was passed to make US cars more efficient. These corporate average fuel efficiency (CAFÉ) standards would not only benefit the U.S. economy but would also help reduce the CO2 emissions released by automobiles which (globally) account for 10% of environmentally damaging fossil fuel emissions2. What most people don’t realize is that these CAFÉ  standards actually met with great success and within ten years, American cars had nearly doubled their gas mileage2.

A recent Environmental Defense study reported that, “the United States has 5% of the world’s population and 30% of the world’s automobiles, but it contributes 45% of the world’s automotive CO2 emissions2.” What happened to all the good intentions? Better gas mileage for cars and dropping oil prices in the 1980’s had car manufacturers and oil companies alike crying foul as they began to lose business and profits dropped. Little by little, US cars became inefficient once again1.

These inefficient cars mean increased gas consumption which further contributes to increased carbon dioxide in the atmosphere and eventually contributes to an increasing shift in Earth’s temperature. Yet, in 1992 our world got a second chance to right itself. The “Earth Summit,” or United Nations Conference on Environment and Development met in Rio de Janeiro to produce the Framework Convention on Climate Change (or UNFCCC). This treaty outlined methods to reduce the emission of greenhouse gases and thus prevent our world’s trajectory towards an increased global warming4.

<<Back Next >>