November 19, 2002: Herald-Times Letter to the editor

Danger in dependence

To the editor:

The U.S. economy is dangerously dependent on the 10 million barrels of oil we import every day. I believe this dependence represents a serious threat to the U.S. economy, security and environment that must be addressed. Unfortunately, the president and Congress seem unwilling to embrace conservation as an effective means to reduce this dependence.

We Americans have a love affair with the automobile, so any proposal restricting our transportation choices or mandating public transportation is sure to fail. However, the average fuel economy of automobiles in the United States has actually gone down in the past 20 years, a trend that must be reversed. The Union of Concerned Scientists (www.ucsusa.org) has designed an SUV comparable to a Ford Explorer that gets 47 percent better gas mileage, has 25 percent more horsepower and only costs $700 more. This slightly higher sticker price would be recovered in fuel savings in only two years. This vehicle uses existing, proven, off-the-shelf technology.

If we look at more exotic hybrid technologies being developed, I think U.S. automakers are missing a golden opportunity. Americans are innovators in so many areas yet the only two hybrid vehicles currently available are from non-U.S. manufacturers. I feel this lack of leadership among U.S. automakers will result in a continued loss of market share and American jobs.

It's time to demand more fuel efficient vehicles from automakers and higher fuel economy standards from our government. The future of our country depends on it.

Rob Henderson
Bloomington

Issue Update:

In a speech on 1/6/2003, GM announced plans to significantly boost fuel economy of its vehicles through the use of gas-electric hybrid technology. This was seen as a response to Toyota and Honda becoming the world leaders in fuel efficient vehicles.