Well, la-de-dah, the Senate has finally passed a bill that calls for higher fuel efficiency standards for the first time in thirty years. The bill mandates a 40% increase in fuel efficiency for new cars and light trucks by 2020.

The bill had originally called for an end to tax breaks for oil companies, and also had a provision that would have required utilities to generate 15% of their electricity from clean sources like solar and wind power by 2020. But Republican senators refused to pass the bill unless those measures were removed, apparently on the grounds that they were unfair to oil companies and “regions not blessed with strong wind or plentiful sunshine,” according to the Los Angeles Times.