Gas Costs Double What They Could Be, Research Group Claims

WASHINGTON, DC, May 28, 2004 (ENS) - It is technically possible today to make vehicles that get 40 miles per gallon instead of the current federal requirement that U.S. vehicles achieve an average fuel economy of 20.8 miles per gallon.

Based on this difference, the U.S. Public Interest Research Group (US PIRG) came out with a report Thursday that says American drivers will spend almost twice as much as they should for Memorial Day travel because of the federal government's fuel economy policies.

The report, "Going Nowhere: The Price Consumers Pay for Stalled Fuel Economy Policies," blames the Bush administration for failing to take action to reduce oil demand and protect consumers from skyrocketing gasoline prices by making miles per gallon standards for vehicles tougher.

The report estimates that, had achievable technology already been implemented, consumers would pay $72 million less nationally this holiday weekend, and $139,000 less in the Washington, DC area. Consumers nationwide would also use 1.8 million fewer barrels of oil.

"Consumers will spend far more than they should have to this Memorial Day weekend," said U.S. PIRG staff attorney Gretchen DuBeau, the author of the report. "As long as outdated miles per gallon standards have us wasting oil, consumers will be vulnerable to price spikes at the gas pump," she said.

According to an analysis by the Union of Concerned Scientists, implementing a 40 mile per gallon automobile fuel economy standard over a 10 year period would reduce transportation oil consumption by one-third by 2020, save consumers $16 billion at the gas pump, and reduce global warming emissions from cars and trucks by 20 percent.

The Energy Policy and Conservation Act requires that the National Highway Traffic and Safety Administration (NHTSA) review and increase automobile fuel economy standards as technologically feasible every 18 months.

Although the technology exists to safely increase automobile fuel economy standards to 40 miles per gallon (mpg) in the next 10 years, NHTSA has not enacted a meaningful increase in fuel economy in almost three decades.

"With a stroke of a pen, the Bush administration could upgrade miles per gallon standards," said DuBeau. "Not only have they opposed significantly increasing these standards, they have actually proposed taking us backward by allowing larger vehicles to meet lower standards," she said.

DuBeau pointed out that, in addition to saving consumers at the gas pump by reducing oil demand, increasing fuel economy would also cut down on the tail pipe emissions that cause global warming.

U.S. PIRG announced the launch of a new web site, www.wecanstopglobalwarming.com, to coincide with this weekend's opening of the film "The Day After Tomorrow," which depicts a worst case global warming scenario.

The purpose of the website is to educate the public about the realities of global warming, and to facilitate a call for leadership to end global warming pollution.

"While the movie is fiction, global warming is a fact," said DuBeau. She urged the government to increase fuel economy to 40 miles per gallon for all cars and trucks over the next 10 years.