Americans consume 25 percent of the world’s produced oil, yet our nation has less than 3 percent of the world’s proven oil reserves. If left unchecked our appetite for oil will continue to grow, and the costs of this dangerous addiction are high. Every year we send billions of dollars overseas, much of it to hostile regimes that do not share America’s values. Our addiction to oil puts the entire nation at risk, and leaves our economy vulnerable to price shocks.
Oil is a leading source of smog, particulate matter, and other toxic pollution that contributes to tens of thousands of deaths each year. As Californians know, the smog produced by our oil consumption is quite serious. In the Los Angeles air basin, notorious for smog problems, economists have concluded that not meeting federal clean air standards costs the region at least $22 BILLION annually in premature deaths, lost days at work, health care costs, and lost days in school.
Our addiction is also the cause of oil spills in our rivers and oceans, poisoning our drinking water sources, polluting our communities and destroying fragile ecosystems.
It’s time to break Big Oil’s stranglehold on our nation.
Bringing Localized Clean Energy to California Communities and Expanding the use of Renewable Distributed Generation