It is crucial that Pruitt recognize the importance of fuel standards

The column from Scott Pruitt assures us he’s going to “take a fresh look” at fuel economy standards implemented late in the Obama administration “to ensure this national program is good for consumers and good for the environment.”

Later, he touts America’s improved technology as responsible for the 70-percent-plus reduction in six common pollutants since 1970, while the GDP and number of miles driven grew significantly.

But in the middle, he decries the effects of fuel standards that would “need to spend $200 billion to comply.” So where did the technology improvements since 1970 come from, if not from spending on innovative designs and processes to curtail emissions?

For an administration so eager to take credit for job creation, why isn’t meeting fuel standards by 2025 seen as a big opportunity? Surely thousands of hightech R&D and manufacturing good jobs would be created nationwide, along with even further reduction in air and water pollution.

Let’s hope Pruitt’s “fresh look” gives these benefits the consideration to which they’re due.