Clean, green cars could save $$$, advocates say

How much mileage is in YOUR tank?

Last year, the Obama administration proposed new fuel efficiency standards for cars and light trucks, calling for them to reach the equivalent of 54.5 miles a gallon by 2025.

That's just an average, so think how high some of the cars will go, assuming there will still be plenty that will continue to suck fuel.

Hearings are being being held so people, car dealers, manufacturers and others can present their cases, pro or con. One is being held in Philadelphia on Thursday. See details here.

Meanwhile, yesterday at a car-charging station in Philadelphia, advocates gathered to present the findings of the Union of Concerned Scientists and the Natural Resources Defense Council.  Their researchers crunched some numbers to figure how much money the new standards would save people, and how the environmental benefits would mount up.

Ready for the big number? $44 billion a year at the gas pump, they concluded.

In addition, "It will save 23 billion gallons of oil in 2030 and reduce heat-trapping carbon pollution by 280 million metric tons – the equivalent of having 40 million fewer vehicles on the road in that year."

Further, the groups did a state-by-state analysis.

They predicted it would "save Pennsylvanians $991 million annually at the pump, cut oil use in the state by 701 million gallons, and reduce global warming pollution by 8.29 million metric tons—equivalent to shutting down approximately two and a half coal plants in the state."

The average Pennsylvania family would save $200 a year at the pump, they said.

In New Jersey, the new standards would result in a $727 million savings, curring oil use by 504 million gallons and reducing global warming pollution by 5.9 million metric tons.

The per-family figure: $204 savings a year.