Maria Cantwell, Other Senators Trying to Save the World

It's not exactly mind-blowingly awesome legislation, but our lady Maria Cantwell and her pals in the Senate have managed to negotiate a mileage standard for all U.S. cars and SUVs today. Currently, cars have to get at least 27.5 miles per gallon, while SUVs only have to get a measly 22 mpg. That's pretty pathetic from an environmentalist perspective, but it's also irresponsible from a business perspective. After all, just about every other country has been making cars that get far better gas mileage for years now. Who wants a gas-guzzling American car (Ford Focus gets 26 mpg!) when gas prices are hovering around $4/gallon and there's the option of getting a high-mpg car like Honda's Insight (61 mpg) or Volkswagen's Beetle (38 mpg)?

We've long been secret cheerleaders of the high gas prices, hoping in some twisted way that it would encourage Congress and other lazy Americans to seek more efficient vehicles. We'll admit 35 miles per gallon isn't astounding for cars (see Smart cars, which get 60 mpg), but it does up the requirement for SUVs by 13 mpg. Holy crap.

Of course, there are variables here. Bush wants no one but the Transportation Department to have a say on gas mileage (dimwit). If he doesn't veto the bill, none of this will take effect until 2020, by which time we'll all have been violently killed by a series of hurricanes, floods and tornadoes, or we'll have starved to death after all the crops have been obliterated by fierce drought; but we appreciate the negotiating skills Ms. Cantwell and her pals unfurled in this battle. It's the only real progress anyone's made on this issue since the freaking '80s.