US Government to Buy Only Green Cars by 2015

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Oil dependence is not really a good foreign strategy, as the current US administration believes. One way to minimize dependence on fossil fuels is to use green vehicles, which is part of Barack Obama’ plans for the next decade or so.

The political crises in various middle eastern countries have resulted in oil price hikes and supply instability. The US has only 2% of the world’s oil reserves, but comprises about 25% of total consumption. This puts the US in a precarious position should oil supply suddenly becomes drastically scarce or very expensive.

The Obama administration plans to buy only green vehicles, such as hybrids and plug-in EVs, by 2015, with the intent of contributing to a cut in US oil imports by a third by 2025. The federal government is actually reducing its use of gas-guzzling SUVs, and is instead purchasing more hybrids and EVs. In 2010, 23,000 fuel-efficient vehicles were purchased, which includes 9,000 hybrid cars.

Obama’s administration is targeting a fleet-wide improvement in commercial vehicle fuel economy, and is targeting an average of 34.1 mpg by 2016. This is said to save the economy 1.8 billion barrels of oil throughout the vehicles’ lifetime, translating to $3,000 in fuel savings for each vehicle.