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The basic facts about our dependence on oil are troubling. Burning oil is changing our climate and it threatens our health and environment. We use about 18 million barrels of petroleum products every day with about two-thirds of that going to keep our transportation system moving – with cars and light trucks being the biggest driver for our oil appetite. So what would this oil dependence look like county by county on a map, in aggregate or per capita? Could such a map help us assess which solutions will work best to address oil hot spots – those places using the most oil? We took a look.

Our maps (done with NRDC and League of Conservation Voters) can be seen here. It turns out that of the 3,144 counties in the U.S., 108 of them use 10 percent of the oil.

Population is a key driver with counties in Texas, California, Florida, the Northeast, and Chicago popping out as red hot spots for aggregate annual oil consumption. However, a map of how much oil each person is using is quite different. Suddenly those dense and populous counties – many with transit systems and walkable communities – are quite green and counties in the middle of the country suddenly become angry red.

Eighty percent of the population now lives in metropolitan areas where distances between destinations are shorter and transportation choices make driving, or even car ownership, optional. Increasing transportation choices and access to existing transit, making walking and biking safer, and better planning can cool off the large metropolitan area hot spots.

Those living in angry hotspots in the Midwest and northern plains will find relief in the fuel efficiency automakers are now bragging about, which will continue to improve as standards double fuel efficiency and cut carbon pollution from new vehicles in half. These standards will have a significant impact on oil consumption for those who do need to drive. Ultimately, using less oil nationwide will mean more transportation choices: more transit, more safe biking and walking, and more efficient vehicles when we do drive. We need to cool off our oil hot spots.

 

Ann Mesnikoff is Green Transportation Campaign Director of the Sierra Club

 

Momentum has been growing for biodiesel as a way to diversify transportation’s energy use and reduce emissions. The renewable fuel, which is made from agricultural byproducts and co-products such as soybean oil, is also a boon for American farmers and many Midwestern states. As an example, the nation’s leading biodiesel state – Iowa – has 13 biodiesel plants and produced some 175 million gallons of biodiesel last year alone.

While automakers have historically been hesitant to warranty their engines for anything other than low blends like B5 – a mix of 5 percent biodiesel and 95 percent conventional diesel – that’s been changing. More than 65 percent of diesel engine and vehicle manufacturers selling equipment in the U.S. now publicly support the use of higher B20 biodiesel blends.

Still, the transition does not come without effort. The latest move: In a formal letter to every major diesel engine and vehicle manufacturer, the Midwestern Governors Association is seeking support for the use of biodiesel blends of at least 20 percent in all diesel-powered equipment. 

One of the challenges has been that not all advanced clean diesel engines are fully compatible with higher blends of biodiesel. Biodiesel interests like the MGA say that as biodiesel use grows in the marketplace, there are significant advantages to ensuring all diesel vehicles are compatible with higher blends.

There’s a lot at stake. The federal Renewable Fuels Standard-2 requires the use of higher levels of advanced biofuels over the next decade, and this could potentially grow the market for biodiesel as high as 5 billion gallons annually. Numbers like that are important in reducing reliance and imported oil…so let’s hope the manufacturers are listening.