Advocacy Project: Letter and Fact Sheet

December 4, 2010

Ron J. Kind
House of Representatives
131 S. Barstow St.
Suite 301
Eau Claire, WI 54701

VOTE YES ON H.R.2724 Title: National Transportation Objectives Act of 2009


The proposed nationwide objectives for transportation will have a significant impact on the overall environmental health and safety of our entire nation. As a health education student at the University of Minnesota Duluth, I believe that setting national transportation performance targets will result in overwhelming positive outcomes for our communities both urban and rural. This will set a standard by which we as Americans must meet and abide by.

This bill seeks to not reduce vehicle emissions as well as promote alternate forms of transportation as a way to lower traffic congestion and reduce traffic accidents. The national transportation targets developed by this bill include reducing per capita vehicle miles traveled by 16% and transportation-generated carbon dioxide levels by 40%, triple walking, biking, and public transportation use, increase freight transportation provided by railroad and intermodal services by 20%, and improve public safety.

Opponents to this bill may argue that this act may impact the automobile industry, however this is the opposite of the truth. By establishing performance targets and objectives that must be met will make the automobile industry more competitive. By mandating manufactures to follow the framework developed by this act the innovations in safety and efficiency that will result are almost endless. These guidelines are set as a means for reducing vehicle emissions but as a result create a new competitive edge within the industry.

We appreciate your past support of the bill protecting our environment and reducing automobile emissions. By supporting alternate forms of transportation we are not only promoting cleaner air, we are lessening cluttered roadways and decreasing traffic accidents as well. Vote Yes to H.R.2724 National Transportation Objectives Act of 2009.

Adam

Fact Sheet

• Ten percent of all vehicles cause 90% of the mobile-source pollution.
• Cheaters tamper with their cars. About 10% of all vehicles have some form of tampering, but over 40% of gross emitters have been tampered with.
• It’s not only the old cars that cause pollution. Both new and old cars can be gross emitters. Only timely maintenance prevents one from attaining the “status” of a gross emitter. New car technology, while helpful, is expensive and will malfunction over time.

How much to Automobiles contribute to global warming?

• Automobiles are America's biggest reason for oil dependence, and represent the single largest piece of our global warming problem. A gallon of gasoline weighs 6 pounds but when burned and combined with oxygen in the air, the resulting compound weighs nearly 20 pounds. Chrysler’s Jeep Grand Cherokee, which weighs just under two tons, emits over three times its body weight in CO2 per year.
• One-third of the United States’ carbon emissions are transportation-related. If American cars and light trucks were a nation, they would be the world’s fifth-largest carbon emitter.
• SUV fuel efficiency has remained virtually unchanged over the last decade; the typical SUV has a rated fuel economy of 20 m.p.g. (29 percent lower than that of the average car), and a consequent CO2 emissions rate of 6.2 metric tons per year (40 percent higher than passenger cars).

How much does the U.S. contribute to CO2 Emissions?

• The United States has the highest rate of carbon emissions in the world, with close to 1,600 million metric tons of carbon released annually (or about 25 percent of the world’s total). Our country’s total output is double that of the next largest polluter, China.
• U.S. carbon emissions are linked to our uncontrolled consumption of fossil fuels, especially oil. The United States is the world's largest "oil burner," with petroleum products accounting for 42% of U.S. global warming

What if Automobile Fuel Economy standards were higher?

• If fuel economy were improved by 5 m.p.g., American consumers would save 1.5 million barrels of oil per day, more than half of what the U.S. imports from the Middle East.
• Cars and light trucks could achieve a combined Corporate Average Fuel Economy (CAFE) standard of 40 m.p.g. if automakers made the best use of available technology over the next ten years. Reaching such a standard would cut global warming pollution by 133 million metric tons per year in 2020, and cut America’s oil demand by 3.6 million barrels per day.

What can be done to reduce the emissions of greenhouse gases?

• The most important step is making the political commitment to put a cap on oil demand and global warming pollution, using improved technology to cut fossil fuel use without shifting the size or performance of the vehicles we drive.
• California’s landmark law to regulate greenhouse gases from cars and light trucks is a crucial start. Extending this approach to other states and the nation would be the single biggest advance Americans can take to stop global warming.

For more information visit the EPA or Environmental Defense