This is truly a unique historic moment when people from all
walks of life and across the political spectrum are beginning to
recognize the need for change in energy policy. When it comes to
transportation energy, the case for change is even more pronounced.
Currently, 96% of the fuel used in U.S. transportation is
petroleum-based, and more than two-thirds of that oil is
imported.
America’s overwhelming dependence on oil—the fact that oil is
essential to supplying everything from goods to food to services to
our own personal travel—places the U.S. economy at the whim of
petroleum market fluctuations, unfriendly foreign regimes, and a
finite energy supply that is rapidly diminishing.
On top of these startling facts, one must also take into account
the devastating impact of the U.S. transportation system, which
burns 21 million barrels of oil each day. The impact of
transportation emissions on the environment and public health is
now well documented and even visible to the eye in urban areas
across America.
Despite nearly two decades of scattered state and federal incentive
programs passed in the wake of the 1992 Energy Policy Act, little
progress has been made to meaningfully advance the use of
non-petroleum domestic fuels. The need for renewable and domestic
transportation energy sources can no longer be denied or delayed.
The American public and its legislative representatives must take
immediate action to change our transportation energy supply through
decisive policy and significant investment in alternative fuel
vehicles and infrastructure.
