The U.S. Can Substantially Cut Oil Consumption by Putting Trucks and Buses on the Path to Sustainable Fuel According to Energy Vision

NEW YORK - July 20, 2010: A White Paper, released today by Energy Vision, documents that the millions of trucks and buses on US roadways are the best starting point for ending the widely acknowledged dangers of U.S. transportation's dependence on oil. It describes a practical strategy for moving these medium and heavy duty vehicles toward sustainable fuel and identifies pending legislation for driving this shift.

According to Energy Vision President Joanna Underwood, "While the country's 10 million trucks and buses constitute only 4% of all road vehicles, they consume an astounding 23% of highway fuel (13% of the U.S. total). They emit 26% of highway-related carbon dioxide, and generate large proportions of urban air pollutants so they greatly outweigh on a per vehicle basis, the impact of lighter passenger vehicles."

The Solution is Natural Gas; from Two Sources

"There is one non-petroleum fuel for trucks and buses," explains Underwood, "that is domestic, plentiful, affordable, clean, and in its renewable form fully sustainable. This fuel is natural gas, and the renewable, chemically-identical form of natural gas made from organic wastes is biomethane.

EV's White Paper states that proven natural gas vehicle (NGV) technologies already exist, so trucks and buses can make the fuel shift to both forms of natural gas. While the US has been behind in using natural gas vehicles (only 110,000 NGVs operate in the US), more than 11 million are in service worldwide.

The Shift to Domestic Natural Gas and Biomethane advances Four National Goals:

Natural security; 48% of the nation's net oil imports are controlled by the unpredictable policies of the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries, and there is increasingly fierce competition from China and other developing countries for diminishing world supplies. This strategy can prevent oil price and supply disruptions to the vehicles (although small in number) on which much of the U.S. economy and the functioning of every community depends. Aggressively developed, biomethane could displace all diesel fuel.
Economic strength and job growth; The outflow of more than $1 billion per day for oil imports, the related loss of more than two million domestic jobs, the impact of oil companies' tax breaks on government revenues, and oil-related defense expenditures have sapped the US economy. This strategy can bring home billions of dollars now flowing to the foreign suppliers of US oil and stimulate hundreds of thousands of new jobs through the expansion of natural gas and biomethane industries.
Public health; Air quality in areas where 157 million Americans live does not meet public health standards. This strategy can eliminate one of the leading sources of urban pollution.
Climate protection; Buses and trucks are the largest per-vehicle emitters of greenhouse gases. This strategy leads to carbon-neutrality through use of the sustainable form of natural gas, biomethane.

Economic Incentives are Key to Success

According to EV's White Paper, two bills pending in Congress; the New Alternative Transportation to Give Americans Solutions (NAT GAS) bill and the Biogas Production Incentives bill; contain the kind of incentives that are essential to building natural gas vehicle and renewable natural gas industries and markets.

"These incentives," states Underwood, "can drive the acceleration of phase one of this country's green fuels revolution. The bills deserve to be promptly passed, or the incentives included in whatever energy bill is finally framed. This opportunity is too important to miss."

Energy Vision, a leading U.S. authority and public educator on alternative transportation fuels, conducts research and outreach at national, state, and local levels to hasten the transition from import-dependent oil-based fuels to sustainable, job-creating domestic fuels. Energy Vision is a 501(c)(3) organization. For more information on Energy Vision and to read the complete White Paper, visit EV's website: www.energy-vision.org.