Show 8A Standard-Examin- Saturday Oct 6 1990 er ID IN Good PR crucial in Olympic bid When the International Olympic Committee announced which city would be host to the 1996 summer Olympic Games there was a sinking feeling in two delegations: Athens Greece and Salt Lake City Utah Athens had been believed to be the frontrunner It had been seen as the sentimental favorite the place that invented this venerable sports tradition in 776 BC and held the first modem games in 1896 Atlanta an upstart American city came from behind and beat Athens for the right to hold the 1996 summer games The response from Greece which felt Athens was the logical place to celebrate the centennial of the modern Olympics was anything but sportsmanlike “We have sent the torch away 25 times in 100 years” said Greek Prime Minister Constantine Mitsotakis “We were only asking for it once” There was reportedly grumbling among the Utah delegation But it was less public Their disappointment was for a different reason There was the abject notion that the Atlanta victory knocked down Utah’s opportunity to win the designation as the host city of the 1998 Winter games because the IOC would never favor games on the same continent let alone the same country In today’s sport world history and tradition can take a back seat to good public relations Like a fine athlete Atlanta knew how to hustle how to outfinesse other contenders and dazzle committee memback-to-ba- ck bers The question remains on minds of many Utahns: What are Utah’s chances of capturing the 1998 Winter Olympics Games with Atlanta in the equation? The answer is obvious Utah’s bid committee must move dauntlessly forward with its preparation of a most attractive competitive viable bid When Utahns travel to England in 1991 they must have a bid package that will capture imaginations The Olympic flame will burn in the United States again in 1996 for only the fourth time this century thanks to Atlanta Utah has unrivaled winter sports resorts perfect snow conditions magnificent natural beauty and a hospitable citizenry Magnifying Utah’s diverse qualities into an and attractive bid one with a commitment to providing the finest facilities is the best way to be sure that the Olympic torch blazes in Utah in 1998 Good public relations backed by great proposals made the difference for Atlanta It can do the same for Utah Gulf crisis bringing to head We must make changes in the kinds of cars we drive to lessen oil dependency For Scripps Howard News Service Last week the Senate debated the need for requiring improved automobile fuel economy standards Though a clear majority of 57 senators voted in support of this important measure the opponents defeated the bill by filibuster This short-terskirmish is a needless delay on this important bill We will be back next year to once again push for real conservation efforts Saddam Hussein’s brutal invasion of Kuwait and the massive American military response have once again reminded us that there is a price for our dependence on foreign oil During the 1980s we became more not less dependent on foreign oil In 1973 the year of the Arab oil embargo America imported a little more than 36 percent of its oil In July of 1989 we passed a significant benchmark in our growing dependence on foreign oil by having to import more than half the oil we use The Energy Department's projections indicated that imported oil will equal 55 percent of consumption m by 2000 Saddam Hussein tells the world that the tensions border are “family’’ matters beon the tween Arabs But in fact Hussein’s “naked act of aggression" is also an act of economic aggression against the West OPEC agreed to his demands by jacking up the price of oil by an additional $5 per barrel Americans will pay this “Hussein" tax not only at the gas pump but with the reawakening of inflation Every dollar rise in a barrel of oil translates into five cents of gas at the pump more America should take preventive action now so that our economy is not held permanently hostage to the vagaries of Middle East politics One constructive way America can respond is by improving automobile fuel performance In 1975 Congress enacted a Corporate Average Fuel Economy — CAFE — standard CAFE requires each auto manufacturer’s new car fleet to meet certain fuel economy standards Despite the auto industry’s dire warnings that CAF E standards were impossible to meet the original CAF E legislation has contributed to a dramatic improvement in auto mileage Iraq-Kuwa- per-gallo- n it issue of how to save energy Fuel conservation important Sen Richard Bryan During the years this legislation has been in ef- fect auto gas mileage has doubled with no loss of performance or interior size Such prodigious results have prevented billions of dollars from going abroad to oil producer bank accounts and billions of tons of carbon dioxide from spewing into our air But the fuel economy standard is frozen in place at 275 mpg This standard was a worthy goal for the ’70s and ’80s but our growing dependence on foreign oil environmental and economic problems demand significant improvements A goal of improving fuel efficiency by 40 percent by the end of the century is a realistic proposal The Transportation Department estimates that such an improvement would save some 49 billion gallons of gasoline or more than 2 billion barrels of 1 oil This figure is very conservative reflecting only the first year of the 40 percent increase in the fuel economy of the auto fleet The single best way to improve the existing CAFT legislation is to require auto manufacturers both domestic and foreign to achieve the same percentage improvement m their CAFE standards By requiring all manufacturers to improve we remove the incentive for backsliding from the current achievements a real possibility as traditional producers of economy cars move into other sectors of sedans and the market such as family-siz- e cars This approach would require the automobile industry to make changes in its production plans which are set several years in advance For this reason a new CAFE bill should provide the industry with time to meet the new goals Rather than repeat the yearly benchmarks of the first CAFE bill goals should be set in advance and the industry should be given time to adjust production plans Production plans must change we must improve economy and we must reduce our dependence on an unstable source of oil The breathing space of the 1980s was squandered in a false spring of inexpensive oil Saddam Hussein's barbarism reminds us that we may yet pay a heavy price for our inacfuel tion is a member of the House (Sen Rryun Ranking Committee's Consumer and Regulatory s subcommittee ) v Af-Ian- but we cannot support legislation that hurts people For Scripps Howard All News Service Americans naturally want safer cars increased fuel economy and cleaner air From its first days the Bush administration has demonstrated its concern for fuel conservation That’s why Transportation Secretary Sam Skinner raised the model year 1990 fuel economy standard to 275 mpg The Energy Department and the Transportation Department are in the process of developing a national strategy to reduce transportation energy consumption while at the same time increasing vehicle energy efficiency This is an important undertaking because saving energy to reduce US dependence on foreign oil is vital The administration strongly opposes the Bryan bill not because it increases motor vehicle fuel economy but because it would decrease highway safety harm US competitiveness impose unnecessarily high costs on new car and truck buyers fail to address the current oil supply disruption and not be an appropriate response to environmental concerns As administrator of the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration one of my jobs is to promote increased fuel economy But my most important job is to save lives and prevent injuries on our nation's highway’s roads and streets I take this job seriously and recognize that there is a fundamental ethical question that cannot be avoided without serious consequences: When does fuel conservation become more important than saving American lives? Mark me well our failure to address this problem can only one day result in a terrible reckoning The facts are that only half of the motor vehicle of the recent past came from improved technology The other half came from stripping about a thousand pounds of weight from fuel economy gains cars known as downsizing We know that less weight means less energy is needed to move the car But we also know that downsizing results in more than 1340 fatalities and 6300 injuries annually This is not to say that small cars arc categorically unsafe but downsizing has had a price: there were people who would be alive today if in our zeal to Jerry Ralph Curry save gas cars had not been so drastically stripped of weight Can efforts to prevent injuries and save lives on dur highways join hands with saving fuel? Yes These two very worthy goals can and should complement each other The American people need to know the truth They should be told that in the future a drastic fuel economy increase to a fleet average of 40 mpg can be achieved only through additional significant downsizing And as in the past this will result in unnecessary and increased deaths and injuries In addition proponents of the 40 mpg fleet average seem to be saying that this increase should be legislated regardless of: American lifestyles Physical needs Of the additional deaths and injuries it may cause Of the economic impact on auto workers and manufacturers Does this make any sense? Not to the majority of Americans who are sensible people and want sensible solutions They want good fuel economy but they know what happens when you achieve it by taking sheet metal away from their cars And they don’t want Washington telling them they can only buy cars that are too small for their family or busi' ness needs The greatest irony is that extremely small cars are available right now Fifteen models currently meet the 40 mpg level But consumer for these vehicles is limited — they just don’t sell very well because they are not right for everyone There is irony as well in the position taken by some who for so long have demanded safer vehicles They have switched sides to unconscionably champion extreme fuel economy increases that they know will result in unnecessary deaths and injuries How sad how unfortunate how inexplicable Do they really care about the consumer’s safety? The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration takes seriously its obligation to set fuel economy standards but we strongly believe that in the process we must consider the effects on safety fuel-efficie- nt de-rha- (Jerry Ralph Curry is administrator of the High ay Tratiic Solely Administration ) A |