Here are some of the results of those expenditures. These fuels have produced positive change that can be measured. In cars built to meet today's tough standards, tailpipe emissions of hydrocarbons, carbon monoxide, and nitrogen dioxide have been cut by 95 percent compared to the 1960s, before controls were used. Further improvements in vehicles and fuels over the next nine years will achieve a 97 percent reduction in emissions. As a result, air pollution has declined.
Research is key to developing still cleaner fuels.
The results are helping legislators, regulators, and the industry meet our nation's clean air goals. And research continues. The energy that drives the American economy is found in the pore spaces of rocks buried thousands of feet below the Earth's surface. Through STEP, our industry minimizes the impact of exploration and production of oil and gas. CAT scans, magnetic resonance imaging, three-dimensional surveys, and satellite imaging are used to help find oil and gas fields, and to limit the number of wells needed.