- There are many steps we can take right now to reduce petroleum consumption, instead of just waiting for electric vehicles
- Obama Administration should make a reduction in barrels of gasoline consumed per day one of its measurable objectives
According to the US Energy Information Administration (EIA), in 2007 the US consumed 9,286,000 barrels of gasoline per day (390 million gallons/day). In the year 2000, US gasoline consumption was 8,472K barrels/day, in 1990 – 7,235K barrels/day and in 1980 – 6,579K barrels/day. The first year the EIA recorded this data was 1945 – 1,587K barrels/day. Our nation’s daily consumption of gasoline has gone up 41% since 1980, the year I first started driving (legally). (Diesel fuel oil consumption in the US was 4,196K barrels/day in 2007, but I will leave diesel out of this discussion for simplicity.)
While the electrification of the automobile is a long-term solution to reducing petroleum consumption, there are plenty of things that we as consumers can do to reduce gasoline consumption immediately. Until electric vehicle designs evolve to the point where they can offer consumers the capabilities and driving range of gasoline vehicles, and at comparable prices, EVs will not become a significant percentage of the 13 - 15 million light vehicles sold (in normal times) in the US per year.
We’re not going to be driving Chevy Volts or Teslas en masse anytime soon. Price will remain a barrier for some time. Therefore, to reduce our dependence on foreign oil and reduce the impact of the automobile on the production of greenhouse gasses, the Obama Administration should make the immediate reduction of the number of barrels of gasoline consumed per day one of its measurable objectives. Low-cost steps that the Federal Government can take to encourage consumers to reduce gasoline consumption include:
- Educate the public on our current national gasoline usage and the rationale for reducing it
- Incentivize consumers to purchase smaller vehicles
- Incentivize consumers to purchase vehicles with smaller, more fuel-efficient engines
- Set the example by replacing government and municipal fleets with smaller-engine vehicles, including two-wheelers
- Educate the public on driving and vehicle maintenance habits that reduce consumption
- Encourage automakers to continue to develop and implement commercially viable (affordable) technologies that improve fuel efficiency - gas direct-injection, turbo chargers, dual-clutch transmissions, lightweight material use throughout vehicle, improved aerodynamics, etc.
- Communicate the nation's progress toward reducing gasoline consumption
As the saying goes, “what gets measured gets fixed / managed / improved, etc.” By setting an objective to immediately reduce US daily gasoline consumption from 9,286K barrels/day, we can start to focus on implementing the simple solutions that can make a difference now… without breaking our wallets. Many of these simple solutions are being overlooked as we look ahead to electric and fuel cell vehicles. I just replaced my 4.4L V8 car with a 3.0L 6-cylinder car (albeit one with twin-turbos that help it to produce 300hp). This counts too, right?
