Clean Cars Would Cut Oil Use, Save Mainers $1 Million on Thanksgiving Travel

Environment Maine

Portland, Maine—As Mainers prepare for one of the busiest travel holidays of the year, and just days after the Obama administration proposed new fuel efficiency standards for cars and trucks, a new Environment Maine report finds that more fuel efficient cars would make significant cuts in oil use and save Mainers roughly $1 million at the gas pump this Thanksgiving alone. The report was released following the Obama administration’s recent announcement of proposed new fuel efficiency and global warming pollution standards for cars and light trucks sold from 2017 through 2025.  

“On Thanksgiving, Mainers should be able to travel over the river and through the woods to Thanksgiving dinner, without having to stop at the gas pump,” said Andrew Francis, Field Organizer for Environment Maine.  “Cleaner and more fuel-efficient cars would cut pollution and keep enough in each Maine family’s wallet this Thanksgiving to bring a few extra pumpkin pies to dinner!  The new clean car standards just proposed by the Obama administration offer an excellent opportunity to bring these benefits to Maine families.”

With roughly 65,000 Maine families taking to the road to visit family and friends this Thanksgiving, Mainers are expected to spend roughly $2 million at the gas pump for their holiday travel.  Environment Maine pointed to the inefficiency of our cars and trucks as one of the main reasons Maine are forced to spend so much at the pump and why cars consume more oil—and create more pollution—than is necessary.  

Environment Maine was joined by Adam Lee, Chairman of Lee Auto Malls and State Representative Alex Cornell du Houx in releasing today’s report.

“It’s great to see this new standard because everyone who drives a car is going to save money and every year we’re going to see more fuel efficient cars like the Chevy Cruze and Honda Civic, which already get over 40 mpg,” said Lee.

“The United States spends nearly a billion dollars a day importing oil. Our dangerous dependence on oil forces us to cut deals with countries that don’t share our values or have our best interests in mind. Our oil use weakens our international leverage, entangles America with hostile regimes, and, by indirectly funding our enemies, puts our troops at risk,” said Cornell du Houx. “The new fuel efficiency and pollution standards announced today are a critical win for America’s security and economic prosperity.”

The new report, “Gobbling Less Gas for Thanksgiving: How Clean Car Standards Will Cut Oil Use and  Save Americans Money,” used regional Thanksgiving travel projections released last week by AAA to determine how many Mainers would be traveling more than 50 miles by car this Thanksgiving.  The report then estimated how much less oil would be used—and how much money would be saved at the gas pump—if the average car taking those trips in Maine this Thanksgiving met a standard equivalent to 54.5 miles per gallon, which is what the Obama administration is proposing new cars and light trucks meet by 2025 rather than the current 26.4 miles per gallon.

The report estimated the following benefits would be realized over the Thanksgiving holiday if the average car met a standard equivalent to 54.5 mpg:

•283,000 fewer gallons of oil would be consumed in Maine.

•Mainers would save roughly $1 million at the gas pump—more than $15 per family.

•Mainer’s cars and light trucks would emit 2,700 fewer metric tons of global warming pollution.

While the Environment Maine report examined the potential benefits from just one Thanksgiving weekend’s worth of travel, a separate analysis by the Natural Resources Defense Council and the Union of Concerned Scientists found that a fleet-wide 54.5 miles per gallon equivalent fuel efficiency standard for new cars and light trucks in 2025 would cut global warming pollution by 2030 by nearly 280 million metric tons, equivalent to shutting down roughly 70 coal fired power plants for one year; cut our annual oil consumption by 23 billion gallons—equivalent to our annual imports from Saudi Arabia and Iraq; and save Mainers $189 million at the gas pump in 2030.

Multiple studies have shown that the technology exists today to make our cars and trucks much cleaner and more fuel-efficient.  Conventional cars and trucks can be made with more efficient engines and more lightweight materials, while hybrids and plug-in electric vehicles can go dramatically farther on a gallon of gas. With the high demand following the roll-out of the Chevrolet Volt and the Nissan Leaf this year, Americans are signaling their desire for more fuel efficient cars, and strong clean car standards will accelerate those to the marketplace.   

Realizing that we can and need to go even further, the Obama administration last week proposed new fuel efficiency and global warming pollution standards for cars and light trucks for model years 2017-2025 that would require new cars and light trucks meet the equivalent of a 54.5mpg standard by 2025.  The proposed standard has the support of 13 major automakers, as well as the United Auto Workers and numerous environmental and consumer groups. These national standards grew out of the leadership of 14 states—including Maine—that previously adopted state-level standards.

The Obama administration will be conducting a public comment period to gauge public support for the proposed standards, and a final standard is expected next summer.  Environment Maine is part of a broad coalition of groups urging the Administration to keep these historic standards as strong as possible to ensure Mainers see the full benefits of the standard.

 “This Thanksgiving, we should give thanks that strong fuel efficiency and pollution standards will reap huge benefits for Maine’s environment, our economy, our health, and our national security,” said Francis.  “We applaud President Obama’s leadership to bring Mainers the savings they deserve. The Obama administration should finalize strong final standards in order to make these benefits a reality.”

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Environment Maine is a citizen-based environmental advocacy organization working to preserve Maine’s open spaces, protect clean air and water, and steer the state toward a clean energy future.  www.environmentmaine.org