US Will Require New Vehicles to Average 49 MPG by 2026

Led by Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg, USDOT has mandated that all new passenger cars and light trucks reach an industry-wide fleet average of 49 mpg by 2026. This bumps up the estimated fleetwide average by approximately 10 mpg when compared to that of model year 2021, making the updated Corporate Average Fuel Economy (CAFE) standards the strongest revision to date.

Reducing the country’s collective reliance on fossil fuels has been top of mind recently, both for policymakers and for the average driver trying to commute to work. Between inflation and the ongoing Russia-Ukraine conflict, gas prices have been rising faster than Americans can realistically keep up with, creating financial catch-22s for full-time employees and gig workers alike. Climate change, meanwhile, is becoming all the more dire of a priority. Current events have accidentally formed a wake-up call to the fact that a widespread reliance on fossil fuel is not financially, politically, or environmentally sustainable.

The latest CAFE revision claims to help with this. “Today’s rule means that American families will be able to drive further before they have to fill up, saving hundreds of dollars per year,” Secretary Buttigieg said in a USDOT release. “These improvements will also make our country less vulnerable to global shifts in the price of oil, and protect communities by reducing carbon emissions by 2.5 billion metric tons.”

From 2026 through 2050, the new CAFE standards will reduce fuel use by more than 200 billion gallons. USDOT says its robust standards will challenge the automotive industry to continue to iterate on vehicles with better fuel economy, especially as more drivers from around the world turn to fuel-efficient or electric vehicles for economic and environmental reasons.

The changes also align with an executive order from President Biden. He recently called on the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) to review its fuel efficiency rules, which were last updated in 2020. The NHTSA was responsible for reviewing public comments regarding the CAFE revision before it was finalized.

“We are proud to fulfill President Biden’s mission to move us to a more sustainable future, one that strengthens American energy independence and helps put more money in American families’ pockets,” NHTSA’s Deputy Administrator Dr. Steven Cliff said in the release.

Continue reading

NASA: Asteroid Could Still Hit Earth in 2068

This skyscraper-sized asteroid might still hit Earth in 2068, according to a new analysis from the University of Hawaii and NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory.

MSI’s Nvidia RTX 3070 Gaming X Trio Review: 2080 Ti Performance, Pascal Pricing

Nvidia's new RTX 3070 is a fabulous GPU at a good price, and the MSI RTX 3070 Gaming X Trio shows it off well.

Nvidia: RTX 3000 GPUs Will Remain Hard to Find Into 2021

There's no hope for a near-term improvement in RTX 3000 GPU availability. Shortages will likely continue through the end of this year and into the beginning of 2021.

SpaceX Starlink Beta Could Expand As Soon As January 2021

SpaceX has been launching Starlink internet satellites for the last 18 months or so, and all they managed to do for most of that time is tick off astronomers. However, the first users have been able to log onto SpaceX's Starlink internet service, and their impressions are good. This is just a small beta test, but SpaceX is apparently planning a wider test early next year.