Clean Energy Advocates Warn of Oil Dependence

[Michael Grynberg <grynberg@Citizen.ORG>]

  On Thursday representatives from the Sustainable Energy Budget Coalition 
  held a press conference to warn that the recent hike in gasoline prices 
  is a troubling sign of the nation's lack of a strong and sustainable energy 
  policy.  The statement of Bill Magavern of Public Citizen follows:
  
  FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE    CONTACT:  Bill Magavern  202-546-4996
  Thursday, May 2, 1996              Bill Wagner    202-588-7703
  
  
  STATEMENT OF BILL MAGAVERN
  DIRECTOR, PUBLIC CITIZEN'S CRITICAL MASS ENERGY PROJECT
  
       The sudden rise in gasoline prices to the highest level
  since the Persian Gulf War has everyone looking for reasons why.
  The fact is that American consumers are suffering from the
  effects of industry greed and governmental shortsightedness.
  While the oil companies take advantage of any excuse they can
  find to raise prices, auto companies continue to make gas
  guzzlers, and elected officials posture for political advantage
  instead of addressing the real issues.
  
       On April 17 Public Citizen called on the antitrust division
  of the Department of Justice and the Federal Trade Commission to
  investigate the rapidly rising prices for gasoline, diesel fuel
  and other petroleum products.  Drivers have been paying sharply
  higher prices at the pump at the same time as many oil companies
  have reported sharply higher profits -- some posting gains of as
  much as 42 percent for the first quarter of 1996.  We applaud
  Anne Bingaman, the assistant Attorney General who heads the
  Justice Department's antitrust division, for appointing a task
  force to look into the issue. We urge the panel to move
  vigorously to uncover why the major petroleum companies have all
  increased their prices so quickly at the same time.
  
       In addition to addressing recent profiteering, the Clinton
  Administration and Congress should address the fundamental
  underlying problem of U.S. oil addiction. Our transportation
  system relies almost entirely on oil, about half of which is now
  imported from other countries. In order to reduce our oil
  dependence and our vulnerability to price shocks, the U.S. must
  find ways to move people and goods without using as much oil as
  we do today. We can start to kick the oil habit by making
  progress in three areas: improving the gas mileage of new
  passenger vehicles, replacing petroleum with alternative fuels,
  and reducing the overall vehicle miles travelled. All of these
  goals are attainable, but they will require political leadership
  that has been sorely lacking of late.
  
       The current Congress has been actively hostile to fuel
  efficiency. Last year, the "DeLay rider" attached by Rep. Tom
  DeLay (R-TX) to the Department of Transportation's  spending bill
  froze mileage standards for the light truck category (which
  includes sport-utility vehicles and minivans) at the pathetically
  low level of 20.7 miles per gallon. Michigan Sens. Spencer
  Abraham (R) and Carl Levin (D), and Rep. Fred Upton (R) have
  introduced legislation to freeze auto efficiency standards at the
  current level of 27.5 mpg, the same level they were at in 1985,
  despite the fact that technology exists to increase gas mileage
  to 45 mpg over 10 years without sacrificing safety or
  convenience. Furthermore, Congress has lifted the National
  Maximum Speed Limit, and passenger vehicles travelling at 75
  miles per hour use approximately 50% more fuel than they do at 55
  mph. The administration, meanwhile, has never taken a strong
  stand on fuel efficiency, preferring instead to placate the auto
  industry, which has lobbied fiercely against any significant
  mileage increases. The automakers continue to bankroll a front
  group, the "Coalition for Vehicle Choice," which uses phony
  arguments to oppose efficiency gains.
  
       Similarly, auto and oil industry lobbying has slowed
  progress toward broader utilization of alternative fuels. In the
  face of heavy special interest opposition, California has rolled
  back its electric vehicle mandate. 
  
       Efforts to reduce vehicle miles travelled and the oil
  dependence, pollution and congestion caused by putting more cars
  on the road, have been thwarted by Congressional power brokers
  allied with roadbuilding interests. Consequently, Congress has
  cut funding for mass transit and other alternatives to the
  single-occupant vehicle, while seeking to pour more money into
  highways. We can not build our way out of the transportation
  energy problem. 
  
       The Congressional Republicans' new ploy of seeking a 4.3
  cent reduction in gas taxes is transparently political. The
  present price shock has been caused by the oil companies raising
  gas prices by over 20 cents since January, not by a much smaller
  tax hike enacted over two years ago. The motivation behind the
  repeal proposal becomes very clear when one finds out that the
  Congressional leaders are considering cutting the tax only until
  Jan. 1, 1997. Given the obvious motivation for such a move, why
  not just have the tax end on Election Day?
  
                                     #
  
  Public Citizen is a nonprofit, nonpartisan member-supported
  consumer research and advocacy organization. Critical Mass is its
  energy policy group.
  
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  Michael Grynberg 
  Public Citizen's Critical Mass Energy Project
  215 Pennsylvania Ave., SE
  Washington, D.C. 20003
  Internet: grynberg@citizen.org