A parade of car manufacturers, environmentalists and consumer groups praised a proposal by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency to drastically increase American fuel efficiency standards over the next 13 years.

The proposed rules, which would require vehicles in the United States to get 54.5 miles per gallon by 2025, were laid out Tuesday during an EPA and U.S. Department of Transportation hearing in San Francisco. The regulations are an attempt to comply with President Obama’s 2010 appeal to car manufacturers to “produce a new generation of clean vehicles.”

The rules would encourage the production of hybrids, electric cars and vehicles that burn alternative fuels, a big boost to Palo Alto’s Tesla Motors and other makers of zero-emission vehicles. It is being touted as the most ambitious attempt yet to reduce greenhouse gas emissions, save money on gas, spur innovation and create what the president called “a clean energy economy.”

“Our da…………… continues on San Francisco Chronicle

Mark the date: With the swipe of an electronic key fob, Miami Beach on Tuesday became the one place in South Florida where you can live happily, and conveniently, without owning a car.

Or at least that’s the fervent hope of Beach officials, who inaugurated Florida’s first municipal car-share program with 20 high-mileage, low-emission vehicles available for rent by the hour at eight city garages.

Will car-sharing really help make the “private automobile a thing of the past’’ on the Beach, as city manager Jorge Gonzalez told reporters?

Probably not any time soon. But the Beach, already the most pedestrian-friendly, bikeable urban area in South Florida, appears off to a better start toward that environmentalist’s dream than just about any other local town.

The car-share program, run by Hertz On Demand at no cost to local taxpayers, joins the city’s popular bicycle-sharing program, DecoBike, providing Beach residents one more reason to forgo car ownership.

Beach residents, and visitors, can now rent a DecoBike at any of 85…………… continues on MiamiHerald.com