EPA/DOT H earing sess ion Testimony: A u g. 6 , 20 15

I am Michael Z urakov, from S k okie, I L. I am h e re as a private c iti ze n ; I want to ack n ow ledge th e s upport and assistance of the Unio n of Concerned Scient i s ts (UCS) , without which I p r obably wo ul d n ot be participating. I am here today becau se of my perso n a l engagement wi th th e growi n g g l obal cris i s that is Hum anCau sed C lim ate C h a n ge. As Pr es id e nt Obama h as s tat ed , it i s the m ost c rucial i ssue of our generation. The impacts of cl i mate change in the comin g d ecad es w ill li kely const itu te the greatest threat our civi li zation has ever faced. Even more important , the sc ience and math e matic s t e ll u s very clearly that time i s s hort ; th at we must act qui ck ly, deci s ively and g lobally if we are go in g to avert the most catas tro phic effects . To th at e nd , we mu s t dram atic all y reduce gree nh o u se gas (GHG) e mi ssions from ALL so urces, including the transportation sec tor

. My p e rso nal commitment to thi s h as taken our hou sehold through several change s :

- In 2 005 , we c h anged to a gas-e lectric hybr id car for everyday u se;

- In 2008, it was modifi e d to "p lug 

### in " ( th at i s, to u se so m e grid e lectr ic powe r);

- In 20 1 3 , we ac quired a pur e e l ectr i c car for local trave l O ver a ten-year period , these s t eps have saved a bout 2,800 gallons of gaso line (and several ton s o f tailpipe e mi ssio n s). So I have taken actio n , as a privat e c iti ze n , to re duc e oil co n s umption. Bu t I know tha t mu c h mo re i s n ee ded. (As so me have pu t it , this "carbon cons um e ri s m" cannot save the plan e t). Onl y far-r e achin g actions b y po li cy make r s can ac hi eve the se ri o u s c uts th at are n ee d e d. Hav i ng addressed fu e l-effic ie nc y stan dard s fo r p asse n ge r ve hi c l es , th e obv ious n ext ste p i s to add ress the fue l-effic iency i ss ue for aJI c lasses of tru cks. So, I app la ud the admin i s trati on for propo s in g s tanda rd s that w ill m ake our truck s m ore efficient in year s to come. 

### ln addition to th e GHG r eductions , the se st andard s will drive innovation , create jo b s . and save truckers bi lli o n s of dollars in fuel costs , compared wit h today . As I und e r s tand them , the propo sed s tandard s wo uld reduce fu e l consumption 36 percent by 2027 , re s ulti ng in 2035 s av i ngs of 550 , 000 barrel s of o il per day. However , a rece nt UCS analysis find s th at re ducin g new truck fue l consumption 40 perc e nt b y 2 025 i s both cos t- effect i ve and technicall y feasible. The refore, the current proposal s h ou ld be stre n gt h e ned, to save an additional 200,000 barrel s of o il per day in 2 0 35. The urge ncy - th e rap idl y clo s in g w ind ow of o pportuni ty fo r clim ate ac ti on - m ake s it imperat ive that we reduce emissions as fast and as quickl y as i s feasibl e. Again , I app laud th e adminis tration for p roposing standard s to make ou r trucks mo re efficie nt, a nd I urge you to finali ze eve n s tron ge r stand ards to th e greatest e xten t fea s i b le. T hank yo u for th e opportun ity to speak today.