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Page added on November 20, 2012
Solving Oil Addiction, State by State
As 43 million people hit the road for Thanksgiving — members of my family among them — I’m reminded again of how dependent we are on gasoline to live our lives. We need it to get to work, to school, to spend holidays with our families. When gas prices spike, all drivers suffer, but in some states, the pain is worse than in others.
NRDC just released its 6th annual report on state oil dependence, ranking states in how vulnerable drivers are to gas price shocks, and in states’ efforts to reduce oil dependence. Mississippi once again tops the list as the state where drivers pay the largest percentage of their income on gas — double the share of what Connecticut drivers pay. Many of the hardest-hit states are predominantly rural. And many of the states where residents spend the least percentage of their income on gasoline, such as Washington, also rank in the top ten of states promoting clean energy and transportation policies that reduce oil dependence. (My home state of New York is also among the top ten.)
The federal government has taken important steps to ease our addiction to oil, foremost among them being President Obama’s new fuel efficiency standards for vehicles. By 2025, our cars will go twice as far on a gallon of gas, saving us enough oil to cut our imports by one-third, and slashing our fuel bills by $1.7 trillion. The standards will also reduce carbon pollution by 580 million metric tons — the equivalent of the emissions produced by 140 coal-fired power plants.
But building more fuel-efficient cars is only part of the solution. We also need to build more fuel-efficient infrastructure: fix crumbling roads and bridges, expand and improve public transportation, and develop communities that allow people freedom to move without their cars. We need federal, as well as state and local leadership, to put these solutions in place.
California, not surprisingly, is employing a host of strategies to reduce oil dependence, including a low-carbon fuel standard, promoting infrastructure for electric vehicles, and smart growth policies that discourage sprawling development and reduce driving distances.
Pennsylvania ranks 15th among the solution states, and its drivers are among the least vulnerable to gas price hikes, in no small part due to the Southeast Pennsylvania Transit Authority (SEPTA), whose rail and bus routes criss-cross the region, giving rides to about half a million people each work day. SEPTA was recently named the nation’s most outstanding transit agency — and that was before they announced a new energy savings plan that will save $2 million dollars without increasing fares or reducing service. The agency has outlined a suite of techniques, including deploying more fuel-efficient technology on buses, which will cut energy use 3 percent.
We’re also seeing smart solutions at work in smaller metropolitan areas like Charlotte, NC, where city officials recently announced a $1.2 billion investment to extend the city’s Lynx light rail line, connecting the downtown area to UNC Charlotte — a move that will relieve highway congestion and give residents a gas-saving option to get around. North Carolina’s state government has traditionally skewed funding toward road-building, but the new Republican governor, Pat McCrory, might turn that around — he championed the creation of Charlotte’s light rail line as mayor. As governor, he could help deliver more transit solutions throughout the state.
Light rail systems, intercity buses, car-sharing and vanpooling are all fuel-saving, congestion-relieving transit solutions — and people want more of them. A recent poll by NRDC showed Americans strongly support additional government investment to improve public transportation over new highways as the best way to solve America’s traffic problems.
All over the country, people are ready for transportation solutions that will clear the air, save money, and help us get where we need to go. We need more states to prioritize funding for public transit, and employ other fuel-saving strategies such as enacting idling restrictions, building out electric vehicle infrastructure, and planning smart communities that reduce driving distances. Efforts such as these, combined with federal oil-savings policies, will protect Americans from gas price spikes and help us break our dangerous addiction to oil.
11 Comments on "Solving Oil Addiction, State by State"
DC on Tue, 20th Nov 2012 6:35 pm
I would have a great deal more respect for groups like the NRDC if they would stop talking about nonsense like how the US will double the ‘efficiently’ of its primitive dirty gas-burners. That wont help anything. Its far too little and far too late now, not that it was a good strategy even if it had been implemented a century ago.
Cars ARE the problem-full stop. Not there mpg. Better mpg only makes the problem slightly less worse, thats all. Travelling millions of collective miles to eat mass-produced chemically fed turkeys? Yes, better mpg will fix any problems associated with that.
NRDC and others need to stop pimping for higher MPG or hybrids or H2 Fool-cell cars and other such expensive and futile non-solutions and tell it like is. Cars ARE the problem-not the solution.
Beery on Tue, 20th Nov 2012 6:58 pm
I agree with you DC, but 99% of motorists will give up their ‘freedom wagons’ at about the time their hearts finally give up on keeping their gargantuan MacDonalds-fed and diabetes-ridden bodies alive.
Telling the average American that he needs to dump his car has about the same effect as telling him he’s gonna have to eat a healthy diet from now on. It’s just not gonna happen.
Rick on Tue, 20th Nov 2012 8:03 pm
The photo at the top says it all, too many people. The root cause to the world’s problems.
actioncjackson on Tue, 20th Nov 2012 9:01 pm
“But building more fuel-efficient cars is only part of the solution. We also need to build more fuel-efficient infrastructure…”
Uh, not gonna help.
Beery on Tue, 20th Nov 2012 10:49 pm
I wonder what would happen if the government, in an effort to curb crack cocaine addiction, improved the efficiency of crack pipes so that people could get high on half the cocaine they presently use?
I mean, does anyone think it would get anyone to kick the habit? Surely, all it would do would be to allow twice as many addicts to get high for the same amount of money.
DC on Wed, 21st Nov 2012 12:55 am
I like that analogy Beery! That about sums it up doesn’t it?
IanC on Wed, 21st Nov 2012 1:26 am
Nice, Beery. Technoexceptionalism makes me sick.
I can envision a cool alternative here in the Willamette Valley of W. Oregon – essentially the same extensive rail system we had in the 1900s augmented by some buses in the cities and extensive dedicated bicycle infrastructure. Sure, we couldn’t drive anywhere we wanted at the drop of a hat, but we’ll still be mobile and healthier for these changes.
Maybe we’ll end up there after all the coming upheaval. 😉
BillT on Wed, 21st Nov 2012 1:39 am
Techies are the ones smoking crack. They believe that their dreams will come true. Perhaps they should think about techie dreams of the past like:
1. Nuclear powered electric generation too cheap to meter.
2. Automated highways that would take you anywhere automatically.
3. Flying cars in every garage.
4. Robots doing all of the housekeeping.
5. Vacations on the moon.
Etc.
Dreams all of it. We don’t need cars, we need intelligence.
DC on Wed, 21st Nov 2012 5:46 am
Well looking at your list BillT lets see where things stand atm.
#1 RoFL
#2 Unfortunately, this boondoggle is alive and well. While no such system exists operationally, the Auto\oil\sprawl complex is flogging this dud as ‘The future’ of happy motoring. Testing and work IS actively being pursued. Lets hope nothing like it ever gets built on any scale.
#3 LoL, hobbyists and true believer types keep working away on this dreadful idea in there workshops. Thankfully, this idea is pretty much dead, except for a few cranks and dreamers.
#4 Kind of, though nothing at all like the Jetsons Robo-maid, Rosie. Mostly little automated vacuums with sensors and a circuit board to manage simple tasks like run around and clean baseboards. $5.00 Straw broom and a dustpan do a far better job.
#5 In 2012, despite desperate cost slashing to make air-travel and cruises attractive to cash-strapped consumers caught up in the new reality of the permanent recession, most of us cant afford trips to the next province or state or neighboring country, let alone the Moon. YMMV.
Arthur on Wed, 21st Nov 2012 3:29 pm
#2 – http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Phileas_%28public_transport%29
Bus in Eindhoven/Netherlands can in fact drive without driver and has small batteries, that are permanently charged by induction from the road.
Kenz300 on Thu, 22nd Nov 2012 4:01 pm
Buy a bicycle… lose weight, stay healthy and save money on transportation costs.