May 26, 2011

New Mileage Labels!

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Me, in 2008, offering a bright idea for getting people to pay more attention to auto mileage:

Require stickers to list the estimated cost of fuel consumption over a five year period. The estimate doesn’t have to be perfect, just close enough to make it clear to consumers how much more one car costs than another over its life. Upside: it’s free. Downsides: none that I can think of.

From the Los Angeles Times today:

Federal regulators unveiled new fuel economy labels that could make it easier for new-car buyers to compare fuel-efficient vehicles and gas-guzzlers. In addition to the miles per gallon, the labels will show […] the expected cost of fuel over the next five years compared with the average new vehicle.

Clearly the federal government stole this idea from me and now refuses to give me credit. Bastards.

Oh wait. They actually did this back in 2006. But that label redesign only showed the expected cost of fuel over one year. Clearly the idea to extend this to five years was mine. I think they should name the new sticker after me.

WE CAME UP SHORT.

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WE CAME UP SHORT.

We just wrapped up a shorter-than-normal, urgent-as-ever fundraising drive and we came up about $45,000 short of our $300,000 goal.

That means we're going to have upwards of $350,000, maybe more, to raise in online donations between now and June 30, when our fiscal year ends and we have to get to break-even. And even though there's zero cushion to miss the mark, we won't be all that in your face about our fundraising again until June.

So we urgently need this specific ask, what you're reading right now, to start bringing in more donations than it ever has. The reality, for these next few months and next few years, is that we have to start finding ways to grow our online supporter base in a big way—and we're optimistic we can keep making real headway by being real with you about this.

Because the bottom line: Corporations and powerful people with deep pockets will never sustain the type of journalism Mother Jones exists to do. The only investors who won’t let independent, investigative journalism down are the people who actually care about its future—you.

And we hope you might consider pitching in before moving on to whatever it is you're about to do next. We really need to see if we'll be able to raise more with this real estate on a daily basis than we have been, so we're hoping to see a promising start.

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