Fact Checking the “Inflated Tires” Brouhaha
Barack Obama recently said there was a lot that each American could do to help conserve gas, like keep your tires properly inflated. McCain’s camp latched onto this supposedly false claim as Obama not knowing anything about energy policy. (Remind you of the negative response to Jimmy Carter’s plea for Americans to conserver energy?)
Well, a bunch of news sites are fact checking Obama’s statement and his energy plan more generally. Guess what? Time, The AP, and CNN Money all say Obama’s tire inflation comment holds water. And, that his energy policy is sound.
From Time:
But who’s really out of touch? The Bush Administration estimates that expanded offshore drilling could increase oil production by 200,000 bbl. per day by 2030. We use about 20 million bbl. per day, so that would meet about 1% of our demand two decades from now. Meanwhile, efficiency experts say that keeping tires inflated can improve gas mileage 3%, and regular maintenance can add another 4%. Many drivers already follow their advice, but if everyone did, we could immediately reduce demand several percentage points. In other words: Obama is right.