EPA: Save energy, but don't buy fuel-efficient cars. WTF?

[rjung]

Not sure if this qualifies as a BBQ Pit rant or a Great Debate, but here goes:

E.P.A. Energy-Saving Spots Give Cars Short Shrift

A new series of whimsical public service announcements from the Environmental Protection Agency are lampooning the notion that cars can be made more energy efficient while the ads encourage conservation at home.

A top E.P.A. official said the $1 million campaign was developed by a branch of the agency that specializes in energy-saving home appliances and was not intended to send a message about cars. But it comes at a time of heightened awareness of oil consumption and energy security, and despite the fact that many analysts say consumers can make their greatest single contribution to air quality when choosing a car.

…Buying a cleaner car, or say, a smaller sport utility vehicle, does not appear to be a viable alternative for reducing emissions. The ad ends with a shot of Mark pushing the car down a hill and Suzanne saying, “He still marches to the beat of a different drum.” At one point, the car fills with helium, Mark starts talking like Mickey Mouse and two men in the backseat shake their heads and say “Genius!”

Yes, using energy-efficient appliances is good, but what’s the point of mocking folks who want to buy fuel-efficient automobiles? Wouldn’t you save more energy by doing both?

Does this campaign tack actually make sense to anyone? Or shall we don our tin-foil hats and conclude that the Bush Administration is (once again) putting the wishes of their corporate buddies ahead of everything else?

[Zagadka]

Somewhat odd, but I think their point is that “just buying an energy efficient car is not enough”, not “don’t buy energy efficient cars”. I don’t know, I haven’t seen any of the spots.

[jshore]

@rjung

Or shall we don our tin-foil hats and conclude that the Bush Administration is (once again) putting the wishes of their corporate buddies ahead of everything else?

Well, my guess is ads like this don’t really get decided at the level of political appointees, so I am willing to believe it was just some not-great judgement on someone’s part rather than some sort of ploy to undermine raising fuel economy standards for cars. (Of course, it still doesn’t excuse the fact that fuel economy standards are not being raised significantly as they should be.)