Oil Diet Fads are Not the Answer to Curbing Petroleum Use
By Jason Mark
 When it comes to curbing America’s appetite for petroleum, fads are as common as the latest South Beach Diet. We bounce from one “get-thin-quick” strategy to another, making little headway in the long-term struggle towards a healthy, oil-free future.
Unlike many diet fads, however, cars powered by ethanol or hydrogen or electricity might actually solve the oil problem in the long run. At least one of these options is the fuel of the future – we just don’t know which one. But until we stop treating these solutions as the flavor of the month, continually switching our research and policy focus on a whim, the nation’s unhealthy appetite will continue to grow.
In the world of oil diets, fuel efficiency is the equivalent of “healthy eating and regular exercise.” It is the single most important strategy for reducing oil dependence, but efficiency gets less attention than burning recycled restaurant grease in cars.
Studies by the National Academy of Sciences, MIT, the Union of Concerned Scientists, and other engineering groups demonstrate that existing and near-term gasoline vehicle technologies can reduce oil use in every new gasoline vehicle sold while saving drivers money. That’s a claim that none of the long-term options can make today, or probably for another decade or more.
But dropping oil from our diet altogether will eventually require new transportation fuels, and it’s not too late to start the transition. Of course, everyone wants to know which fuel to bet on. Many promoters of ethanol, hydrogen, biodiesel, natural gas, propane, or electricity are busy overselling their fuel’s virtues and emphasizing the shortcomings of their “competitors.” In the race to replace petroleum, it’s the equivalent of circling the wagons and shooting inward.
As any savvy investor will attest, the smart money is on a diverse portfolio, supporting all of the fuels in hopes that that one or more will succeed. Ethanol needs a sustainable, cheap feedstock and better ways to brew the fuel. Hydrogen-powered cars require technology breakthroughs and clean sources of hydrogen. Electric cars need much cheaper batteries and a commitment to retire the country’s aging fleet of dirty coal power plants. All three fuels need infrastructure support to compete with the country’s 180,000 corner gas stations.
Ridding our economy of oil will ultimately require the “moonshot” technology that politicians often talk about on the stump. But current funding levels won’t even get us off the launch pad. With $6 billion per month spent on the Iraq War (according to the Congressional Research Service), it would be prudent to invest more than the $35 million the government spends each month on oil-saving cars and fuels.
Transforming transportation won’t come through research alone, however. While the auto or oil companies have never met a government regulation they liked, history has repeatedly demonstrated that market forces alone can’t solve the problem. From leaded gasoline to seat belts to fuel economy standards, these companies have routinely needed policy prodding to do the right thing by consumers and their health.
We don’t have to wait for a miracle pill to slim down. Pushing readily available fuel-saving technologies into the market is our first step to good health, followed by a strong dose of investing in the new fuels of tomorrow – all of them. This is no time to get caught up in the glamour of the latest diet craze.
Jason Mark is Vehicles Director of the Union of Concerned Scientists (www.ucsusa.org), a nonprofit partnership of scientists and citizens focused on practical environmental solutions
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