Frustrated by the ever-worsening oil spill in the Gulf Coast and just how costly our dependence on oil has become? Our oil addiction puts our environment, economy, public health, and national security at risk. We must do more than simply mop up the current mess. It's time for a national oil savings plan -- and the Union of Concerned Scientists has developed just that.
Based on sound science and existing and emerging technologies, UCS has developed a set of practical solutions that can cut projected U.S. oil consumption in half by 2030. Urge President Obama to make this plan a reality!
Dear President Obama,
We can use American ingenuity to end our dangerous dependence on oil. The Union of Concerned Scientists has developed a strong, comprehensive, science-based plan that can cut our projected oil use in half by 2030. Taking this step would keep billions of dollars in our economy, cut pollution, and protect our coasts from devastating oil spills. You can see the full plan here: www.ucsusa.org/OilSavingsPlan
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Right now, you have an opportunity to help put America on this path by making our cars and trucks cleaner and more fuel efficient.
I urge you to strengthen pollution and fuel economy standards for new cars and light trucks by ensuring they achieve at least 60 miles per gallon and emit no more than 143 grams of global warming emissions per mile by 2025. In addition, we need accurate accounting for fuels, including electricity for plug-in hybrids and electric vehicles.
I also urge you to reduce fuel consumption from long-haul tractor-trailers by at least 35 percent by 2017 and require all other medium- and heavy-duty trucks to increase fuel economy to the maximum technically feasible level.
Taking these needed steps will reduce our dependence on oil by at least 45 billion gallons per year by 2030 -- beyond what is expected from current vehicle standards. That's nearly three times as much oil as we currently import from Saudi Arabia.
We need your leadership to unleash American technology and ingenuity to help break our country's dependence on oil.
