Many of us are concerned about Climate Change and do whatever is reasonable to reduce our greenhouse gas emissions. We buy more energy efficient lights and equipment. Perhaps we drive a little less (and walk more). We consider candidates who care about Climate Change.

However, there are many ways that we contribute to greenhouse gas emissions that we do not realize. Like all Americans, we buy things. Whether it is grocery shopping, some paint to spruce up the house, some toys for our granddaughter’s visit, and a few plants for the yard, each of these items probably got from the places they were made or grown to warehouses and to the stores by being transported by a heavy-duty truck. This is even more true today, as we buy from companies that deliver goods directly to your home.

According to Businessinsider.com, 70% of freight is carried by trucks in the US. Trucks dominate because they are fast, safe, and take goods right to where they need to go. But trucks are not fuel-efficient and thus, are heavy GHG emitters. According to the Energy Information Agency (EIA.gov), the average fuel efficiency of a heavy-duty truck is 6.6 miles per gallon of fuel, which is 27% worse than trucks achieved in 1950 (9.0 mpg)! Trucks, of course, burn a lot of diesel fuel; a truck may use as much fuel as about 50 new passenger cars.

According to The Truckers Report, fuel is the greatest cost for the truck owner, nearly 4 times higher, per mile travelled, than driver’s salary.

Thus, the Obama administration passed guidelines to raise minimum fuel standards for trucks to as high as 30 mpg for light trucks by the late 2020’s. The Trump administration rolled back those standards, with business support, as too expensive to consumers. But one can state that the lack of mileage standards are themselves very expensive for the American consumer. One estimate states that the average US household pays $1,100 per year to fuel heavy trucks and this does not include the indirect environmental costs (both Climate Change and direct toxic emissions from diesel fuel combustion).

The Biden administration is considering re-establishing mileage standards for passenger cars and an array of trucks.

Therefore, consumers and businesses would benefit from new truck efficiency standards, with freight costs dropping markedly. The Obama standards would have caused a reduction of 270 million tons of GHG emissions annually in the US, cut emissions of air toxics from fuel production and combustion, and reduced oil consumption by 1.4 million barrels a day, more than we currently export from Saudi Arabia.

Americans should examine silent operations that we pay for that contribute significantly to Climate Change and try to implement ways to reduce them (buy fewer products, only those most important) and lobby for fair rules to reduce their numbers and impact.

CCES has the technical experts to identify and estimate the emissions of greenhouse gas and toxic emissions from different applications, analyze the implications on cost and your business, and develop smart ways to reduce it. Contact us today at 914-584-6720 or at karell@CCESworld.com.