I received this note from Senator Feinstein today.

April 20, 2006 Mr. Michael xxxxxxxxx xxxx xxxxxxxxxxx Street xxxx xxxxxx, California 9xxxx Dear Mr. xxxxxxxxx: Thank you for writing to me to express your concerns with the Bush Administration's recent efforts to increase fuel economy standards for Sport Utility Vehicles (SUVs) and light trucks. I appreciate hearing from you on this important issue and welcome the opportunity to respond. I understand and share the concerns you mention in your letter. The bottom line is that this new policy continues to allow SUVs and light trucks to achieve less stringent fuel economy standards than passenger cars. America's cars and light trucks are responsible for 33 percent of U.S. carbon dioxide pollution, which causes global warming. In addition, the United States is the largest consumer of oil, using 20.4 million barrels per day. By increasing Corporate Average Fuel Economy (CAFE) standards, particularly for SUVs and other light trucks, we can reduce our dependence on oil in addition to decreasing our greenhouse gas emissions. You will be pleased to know that I have re-introduced the "Automobile Fuel Economy Act of 2005" (S. 889). This bill would phase in an increase in the CAFE standards for light duty trucks and SUVs so that by 2011, light duty trucks and SUVs would meet the same CAFE standards as cars do today. The bill would also mandate that the federal fleet of cars and trucks meet a higher fuel economy standard than currently required. Closing the "SUV loophole" will save 1 million barrels of oil a day, decrease foreign oil imports by 10 percent, and prevent 240 million tons of carbon dioxide from entering the atmosphere each year. Again, thank you for contacting me. If you have any additional comments or questions, please feel free to contact my Washington, D.C. staff at (202) 224-3841. Best regards. Sincerely yours, Dianne Feinstein United States Senator http://feinstein.senate.gov Further information about my position on issues of concern to California and the Nation are available at my website http://feinstein.senate.gov. You can also receive electronic e-mail updates by subscribing to my e-mail list at http://feinstein.senate.gov/issue.html.

It's a solution, but as usual with our established Democratic leadership, it's a solution that only mildly attempts to resolve the increasingly critical energy depletion and environmental pollution factors of fossil fuel consumption. We won't know if a solution is truly adequate until we propose one that has the American automobile industry screaming bloody murder.