We are a mobile society, which means driving. It also means burning energy. Here are a few suggestions to lessen the effect of our driving on the environment. Our vehicles use more gasoline each year than the entire U.S. oil industry produces. We now import 52 percent of our oil, even more than we did before the oil crises of 1973 and 1979.
Most vehicles transport only one person.
We have so much extra room in our 140 million cars that everyone in Western Europe could fit in them with us. With each vehicle so underused, our roads are more and more crowded. Traffic congestion wastes about 3 billion gallons of gas a year, a lifetime supply of gasoline for an estimated 600,000 cars. Your vehicle's efficiency is a significant factor. Fuel-efficient cars typically emit fewer noxious gases that contribute to global warming, smog and acid rain.