JUST WHEN things are looking bleak on the environmental protection front comes word that the Bush administration is thinking green about cars.

A proposal to impose tougher fuel-efficiency standards on SUVs and other light trucks is reported to be actively under consideration in a White House led by Texas oil men and the former top lobbyist for the Big Three automakers. If they approve, it would be the first government-ordered increase since 1996.

Environmentalists complain it's too small, mostly a political gesture to create the appearance of bold action where there is none.

But, hey, it's better than nothing. Which is what the Democratic-led Senate did on the issue last year. When urban Democrats like Barbara A. Mikulski vote against demanding better gas mileage from polluting road hogs on the pretext of saving jobs, how much can reasonably be expected from a Republican president more in tune with Ronald Reagan than Teddy Roosevelt?

So, Mr. Bush should go for it, pedal to the metal.

There's no mistaking, though, the political craftiness of this would-be initiative.

It calls on automakers to boost fuel efficiency of SUVs, pickups and minivans by 1.5 miles a gallon between 2005 and 2007. That would take them up to 22.2 miles per gallon from the current target of 20.7 miles --a 7 percent increase.

By contrast, the defeated Senate proposal would have combined passenger cars in the same category with light trucks and required them all to reach a fleet average of 36 miles per gallon by 2015.

By backing the smaller increase -- which would have to be imposed through regulation by April 1 to affect the 2005 model vehicles -- the Bush administration could take credit for acting on the matter and deflect pressure for stronger measures.

Further, some action, any action, on the federal front might help the administration resist unilateral steps by the states, such as California, which is fighting its smog problems by setting its own vehicle fuel-efficiency standards.

Plus, the administration recognizes what they are learning in Motown: that soccer moms and car pool dads might choose SUVs for their convenience or cachet, but they often feel remorse later at the gas pump. It's good politics and good business to make them cheaper to operate.

Pressure to do more will also have to come from the driving public.

Despite the illusion of safety, many SUVs have proved to be a hazard to their passengers because their height and width make it hard to see the road, and because they often roll in crashes. The death rate in SUVs is 6 percent higher than the occupant death rate for cars.

And they dirty the air at a greater rate. Half the vehicles on the roads today are in the light-truck category, but they spew forth 60 percent of the carbon emissions.

If car buyers make clear that those features are unacceptable, both Washington and Detroit are sure to respond.