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Executive Summary
As the new home of NCPIRG's environmental work,
Environment North Carolina can be contacted with any questions regarding this report.
America is too dependent on oil, and consumers
are paying the price. For the last two years,
gasoline prices have been creeping upward. In
2003, a gallon of regular gasoline averaged
$1.56; so far in 2005, the same gallon has
averaged $2.29, with prices in some areas
spiking close to $4.00 in August and September
after Hurricane Katrina disrupted supply from the
Gulf Coast.
America uses more oil for transportation than for
anything else. About two-thirds of the oil America
uses is to move people or goods from place to
place, and the vast majority of that is used in
personal vehicles such as cars, light trucks and
SUVs. Transportation has been the main driver of
America’s increased oil use, responsible for 79
percent of the growth in oil consumption in the
U.S. between 1985 and 2003.
The best way to reduce our dependence on oil
and save consumers money at the pump is to
make cars go farther on a gallon of gasoline.
Today, the average fuel economy of light-duty
cars and SUVs is just 21 miles per gallon (mpg),
five percent less than what it was in 1987. The
National Academy of Sciences has stated that we
already have the technology to make cars get 40
mpg. The big oil companies and automakers
continue to fight this technological progress; in
fact, while consumers are paying more at the
pump, oil companies are recording huge profits.
In 2004, the top ten oil companies enjoyed net
profits of $100 billion, an increase of more than
30 percent from 2003.
Congress and the Bush administration have
failed to take meaningful action to reduce
America’s oil dependence. In August 2005, the
president signed into law an energy bill that gives
new tax breaks to the oil and gas industry while
doing nothing to make cars go farther on a gallon
of gasoline or protect consumers at the pump. In
the same month, the Bush administration
proposed changes to federal fuel economy
standards that could actually encourage
manufacturers to make bigger, heavier, and less
fuel-efficient SUVs and light trucks.
In May 2001, when announcing his national
energy strategy, President Bush had the
opportunity to take a bold step forward and
increase the fuel economy of cars and SUVs to 40
mpg by 2012. If he had, consumers and the U.S.
economy already would be reaping the benefits
as more efficient cars entered the market. In
2006 alone:
• The U.S. would consume 500,000 barrels of
oil less per day. This is more than three-fourths
of our current imports from Iraq.
• Consumers would save more than $8.7 billion
at the gas pump, about $500 per new vehicle
on the road.
• The U.S. would offset 34.2 million tons of
carbon dioxide, the primary global warming
gas. This is the equivalent of removing almost
six million average vehicles from the road.
After 2006, as more cars meeting the new
standards replaced older, less efficient cars, the
benefits would grow even larger.
President Bush should not wait any longer. In
order to curtail America’s oil dependence and
save consumers money, President Bush should
pick up a pen and increase fuel economy
standards to 40 miles per gallon
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