The cost of our oil addiction

Connecticut families pay more than ever for our addiction to oil. With rising global demand and dwindling supplies pushing oil prices ever higher, oil dependence takes an enormous bite out of our paychecks and our economy. But the prices that we pay at the pump are only a fraction of the true costs of our addiction to oil.

We pay for it with our lungs, every time we breathe in air pollution released by cars and trucks.

We also pay for it with harm to our nation’ beaches and fragile wild places. The 2010 Deepwater Horizon disaster spilled 200 million gallons of oil into the Gulf of Mexico and contaminated thousands of miles of coastline. In early 2011, an ExxonMobil pipeline accident dumped 42,000 gallons of oil into the Yellowstone River in Montana.

It doesn't have to be this way. And in 2011, Environment Connecticut and our allies made encouraging progress towards our goal of breaking America’s oil addiction.

At 54.5 mpg, a big move to get America off oil

Last summer, our staff and allies redoubled our efforts, mobilizing 10,000 people to voice their support for cleaner cars that use less oil.

The Obama administration responded by announcing two big steps toward getting America off oil:

  • The administration announced new fuel economy standards that will make 54.5-mpg cars the norm by 2025.  This is the single biggest step ever taken to reduce oil consumption and global warming pollution.
  • The Obama administration also announced the first-ever fuel economy standard for trucks, which will save more than 20 billion gallons of gasoline by 2018.

In the weeks and months ahead, Environment Connecticut will continue its work to push these new nationwide clean car standards past the finish line.

What you can do: Ten Tips to Get Off Oil

Strong fuel efficiency standards could be the most important policy ever enacted to reduce our oil dependence and global warming pollution. However, small changes can also add up to a big difference.

Check out our Top 10 tips to start cutting your oil use today.

Clean Cars Updates

News Release | Environment Connecticut

Obama Administration to Protect Connecticut Residents’ Health by Setting Carbon Pollution Standards for New Power Plants

The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) today proposed historic new limits on carbon pollution from new power plants.  Carbon pollution fuels global warming, which leads to poor air quality that triggers asthma attacks and other respiratory problems.  Scientists also predict that global warming will lead to more devastating floods, more deadly heat waves and the spread of infectious diseases. Coal-fired power plants are the largest single source of carbon pollution in the U.S., yet there are currently no federal limits on this pollution from power plants.  The standard proposed today will correct that for new power plants by limiting their emissions of carbon pollution.

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News Release | Environment Connecticut

Energy Efficient Buildings Would Reduce Global Warming Pollution, Save Connecticut Families $670 Annually

Connecticut families could save $670 every year on their electricity bills by 2030 if the government invests in the energy efficiency of our buildings today, according to a new report by Environment Connecticut. Saving energy in our buildings would also help Connecticut’s fight against global warming, reducing global warming pollution from buildings by 28 percent—the equivalent of taking 3.9 million cars off the road.

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Report | Environment Connecticut Research & Policy Center

Gobbling Less Gas for Thanksgiving: How Clean Cars Will Cut Oil Use and Save Americans Money

America’s dependence on oil threatens our environment, our economy, and our national security. Whether it is the scars left by the oil spills in the Yellowstone and Kalamazoo rivers and the Gulf of Mexico, the $1 billion that American families and businesses send overseas every day for oil, or the nearly 2 billion metric tons of global warming pollution emitted annually which fuels more and more extreme weather, these problems demand that we break our dependence on oil.  

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News Release | Environment Connecticut

Clean Cars Would Cut Oil Use, Save Americans $260 Million on Thanksgiving Travel

As Americans prepare for the busiest travel holiday of the year, and days after the Obama administration proposed new fuel efficiency standards for cars and light trucks, a new Environment Connecticut report finds that more fuel efficient cars would significantly cut oil use and save Americans nearly $260 million at the pump this Thanksgiving alone. The report was released at an event today following the Obama administration’s announcement last week proposing new fuel efficiency and global warming pollution standards for cars and light trucks sold from 2017 through 2025.  

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Report | Environment Connecticut Research & Policy Center

The Way Forward on Global Warming

Humanity is running out of time to stop the most dangerous impacts of global warming. Signs of global warming are appearing around the world – including in the United States – and the latest science suggests that future impacts are likely to occur sooner and be more severe than previously thought.

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