[Vision2020] Building and development planning: Fusion?

[Tbertruss at aol.com]

Phil et. al.

There is fossil fuel waste and inefficiency of numerous kinds all over the 
place.  I can't address the local mining issues you present as they impact 
fossil fuel use without doing a lot of research to study all the issues involved.  
It appears you have done some research on this issue.  Good for you!

However, I can present the following facts to demonstrate how the average 
consumer in Latah County can have a direct impact on fossil fuel efficiency:

What is astonishing is that cars and light trucks account for a huge share of 
the inefficient use of fossil fuels, with this category of type of cons
umption of fossil fuels accounting for more than 40% of US consumption of oil, 
according to facts presented at this web site:

http://www.driveforamerica.org/moreInfo/index.asp

"Transportation now accounts for the largest share of U.S. oil consumption 
ever - with cars and light trucks accounting for more than 40 percent of U.S. 
oil consumptionv. Though currently at an all-time high, transportation is 
expected to account for even more of our oil consumption by 2025, roughly 
three-quartersvi.  

And from the "Alliance to Save Energy" web site, they also bolster this 
claim, stating that "more than two-thirds of the oil consumed in the US is for 
transportation, mostly for cars and light trucks."

Evidence is also presented by the ASE that in fact average fuel efficiency of 
cars and light trucks has declined since 1988:

http://www.ase.org/uploaded_files/policy/Fuel%20Economy%20Fact%20Sheet.pdf

These facts suggest that all the SUVs and light trucks in Latah County are a 
major part of the problem of fossil fuel inefficiency, a variable each 
consumer has direct control over!

I would assume off the cuff without investigation that our military, large 
diesel trucks, the airlines, and other large scale industrial needs for fossil 
fuels, like your example of 50,000 tons of resources shipped from Virginia that 
could be obtained locally with less fossil fuel use, would account for most 
all the main sources of inefficiency.  But cars and light trucks are a huge 
(more than 40% of oil consumption in the USA!!!) source of inefficiency, which 
could be addressed by mandating higher fuel efficiency in these vehicles.

It is hard to control all the choices made by government and industry that 
directly impact fossil fuel efficiency, but each consumer can vote with their 
wallet to demand more fuel efficiency in cars and light trucks, which would have 
a dramatic impact on the wasteful use of fossil fuels.

What about all the foreign made cars shipped across oceans to the USA via 
cheap fossil fuels?  Maybe when fossil fuels become outrageously expensive, the 
US auto industry will start making cars in increasing numbers here in the USA, 
bringing back all those great manufacturing jobs that once were so important 
to the fabric of the US middle class?  Super efficient cars and light trucks, 
that is!

Ted Moffett
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