Arizona
’s consumers will spend over $98 million more at the gas pump in 2005
than they should because of shortsighted automobile fuel economy
policies, according to a report released today by the Arizona PIRG
Education Fund.
On
the fourth anniversary of the release of President Bush’s energy plan,
the Arizona PIRG Education Fund released a new report – “ America Idles: How Federal Inaction Costs Americans $5 Billion at the Pump in 2005. ”
The report details what we could be saving if the Bush administration
had increased fuel economy four years ago instead of pushing for his
energy plan.
“Last month, President Bush wished for a magic wand to lower gas
prices, but with a stroke of an ordinary pen, the Bush administration
could require cars to go farther on a gallon of gas,” said Mike Somers,
spokesperson for the Arizona PIRG Education Fund.
According to the report, had President Bush increased the fuel economy
of cars and light trucks to 40 mpg in 2001 instead of pushing his
energy proposal, consumers and the U.S. economy would already be
reaping the benefits. Although the policy would still be phasing in,
more efficient cars would already be entering the market.
The report shows that in 2005 alone:
• The U.S. would be consuming 350,000 less barrels of oil per day. This
is more than half of our current imports from Iraq. Arizona would be
saving 6,653 barrels of oil per day this year.
• Consumers would be saving more than $5 billion at the gas pump or
about $300 per new vehicle. Arizona consumers would be saving over $98
million in 2005 alone.
• The U.S. would be reducing its emissions of carbon dioxide, the
primary gas responsible for global warming, by 23.9 million tons. This
is equivalent to taking four million average vehicles off the road.
Arizona would be removing the equivalent of 79,382 vehicles this year.
“The best way to reduce America’s dependence on oil and save consumers
money at the pump is to make cars that go farther on a gallon of gas,”
continued Somers. “Unfortunately, the House energy bill and the
President’s plan are driving America in the wrong direction.”
In April 2005, the House passed 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 gas. The Energy Information Administration (EIA)
concluded that the policies outlined in last year’s virtually identical
bill would increase U.S. imports of foreign oil by 85 percent by 2025
and do nothing to lower gasoline prices in the short or long-term.
Similarly,
EIA has reported that drilling in the Arctic Refuge would not have any
impact on world oil prices and the U.S. Geological Survey estimates
that the oil found in the Arctic Refuge would meet the energy needs of
the U.S. for less than one year. Increasing the fuel economy of cars to
40 mpg, however, would save at least four times as much oil each day by
2020 as the Arctic Refuge would produce each day at its peak.
“ America Idles: How Federal Inaction Costs Americans $5 Billion at the Pump in 2005 ”
can be downloaded at www.arizonapirg.org
