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Fighting Oil Addiction: Ranking States' Gasoline Price Vulnerability and Solutions for Change shows a "wide gulf" between states that promote public transit (bus, shuttles, trains or light rail), smart growth, and fuel efficiency, compared to states that do "little or nothing to expand less oil dependent forms of transportation."
The report shows that the 10 states that do the most to implement policies that reduce fossil fuel usage are: #1 California, #2 Oregon, #3 Washington, #4 Massachusetts, #5 New York, #6 Connecticut, #7 Maine, #8 Maryland, #9 Rhode Island and #10 Vermont.
The 10 states that do the least to curb oil dependence are: #50 Nebraska, #49 Alaska, #48 Mississippi, #47 Idaho, #46 North Dakota, #45 Arkansas, #44 Indiana, #43 South Dakota, #42 Wyoming, #41 Kansas and #40 Utah -- typically Republican controlled states.
Drivers in more rural states, where public transportation and other clean energy initiatives are typically harder to come by, are twice as dependent on fossil fuels and thus pay twice as much as a percentage of their incomes for gas, compared to drivers in other more urban states.
"The truth is, we must continue fighting to reduce our dependence on oil," said Deron Lovaas, NRDC's federal transportation policy director. "Whether it's by states advancing public transit, clean fuels and smart growth, or by the government supporting development of advanced vehicles and actions that save oil, more steps must be taken to end an addiction that harms our wallets, economy and environment."
Further, the oil addiction report calls on the Obama administration to do more to influence state initiatives:
"The federal government should lower barriers to new adopters of advanced vehicles and alternative fuels, and implement a two-year transportation bill Congress passed last summer in ways that save oil."
Dear Common Dreams reader, It’s been nearly 30 years since I co-founded Common Dreams with my late wife, Lina Newhouser. We had the radical notion that journalism should serve the public good, not corporate profits. It was clear to us from the outset what it would take to build such a project. No paid advertisements. No corporate sponsors. No millionaire publisher telling us what to think or do. Many people said we wouldn't last a year, but we proved those doubters wrong. Together with a tremendous team of journalists and dedicated staff, we built an independent media outlet free from the constraints of profits and corporate control. Our mission has always been simple: To inform. To inspire. To ignite change for the common good. Building Common Dreams was not easy. Our survival was never guaranteed. When you take on the most powerful forces—Wall Street greed, fossil fuel industry destruction, Big Tech lobbyists, and uber-rich oligarchs who have spent billions upon billions rigging the economy and democracy in their favor—the only bulwark you have is supporters who believe in your work. But here’s the urgent message from me today. It's never been this bad out there. And it's never been this hard to keep us going. At the very moment Common Dreams is most needed, the threats we face are intensifying. We need your support now more than ever. We don't accept corporate advertising and never will. We don't have a paywall because we don't think people should be blocked from critical news based on their ability to pay. Everything we do is funded by the donations of readers like you. When everyone does the little they can afford, we are strong. But if that support retreats or dries up, so do we. Will you donate now to make sure Common Dreams not only survives but thrives? —Craig Brown, Co-founder |

Fighting Oil Addiction: Ranking States' Gasoline Price Vulnerability and Solutions for Change shows a "wide gulf" between states that promote public transit (bus, shuttles, trains or light rail), smart growth, and fuel efficiency, compared to states that do "little or nothing to expand less oil dependent forms of transportation."
The report shows that the 10 states that do the most to implement policies that reduce fossil fuel usage are: #1 California, #2 Oregon, #3 Washington, #4 Massachusetts, #5 New York, #6 Connecticut, #7 Maine, #8 Maryland, #9 Rhode Island and #10 Vermont.
The 10 states that do the least to curb oil dependence are: #50 Nebraska, #49 Alaska, #48 Mississippi, #47 Idaho, #46 North Dakota, #45 Arkansas, #44 Indiana, #43 South Dakota, #42 Wyoming, #41 Kansas and #40 Utah -- typically Republican controlled states.
Drivers in more rural states, where public transportation and other clean energy initiatives are typically harder to come by, are twice as dependent on fossil fuels and thus pay twice as much as a percentage of their incomes for gas, compared to drivers in other more urban states.
"The truth is, we must continue fighting to reduce our dependence on oil," said Deron Lovaas, NRDC's federal transportation policy director. "Whether it's by states advancing public transit, clean fuels and smart growth, or by the government supporting development of advanced vehicles and actions that save oil, more steps must be taken to end an addiction that harms our wallets, economy and environment."
Further, the oil addiction report calls on the Obama administration to do more to influence state initiatives:
"The federal government should lower barriers to new adopters of advanced vehicles and alternative fuels, and implement a two-year transportation bill Congress passed last summer in ways that save oil."

Fighting Oil Addiction: Ranking States' Gasoline Price Vulnerability and Solutions for Change shows a "wide gulf" between states that promote public transit (bus, shuttles, trains or light rail), smart growth, and fuel efficiency, compared to states that do "little or nothing to expand less oil dependent forms of transportation."
The report shows that the 10 states that do the most to implement policies that reduce fossil fuel usage are: #1 California, #2 Oregon, #3 Washington, #4 Massachusetts, #5 New York, #6 Connecticut, #7 Maine, #8 Maryland, #9 Rhode Island and #10 Vermont.
The 10 states that do the least to curb oil dependence are: #50 Nebraska, #49 Alaska, #48 Mississippi, #47 Idaho, #46 North Dakota, #45 Arkansas, #44 Indiana, #43 South Dakota, #42 Wyoming, #41 Kansas and #40 Utah -- typically Republican controlled states.
Drivers in more rural states, where public transportation and other clean energy initiatives are typically harder to come by, are twice as dependent on fossil fuels and thus pay twice as much as a percentage of their incomes for gas, compared to drivers in other more urban states.
"The truth is, we must continue fighting to reduce our dependence on oil," said Deron Lovaas, NRDC's federal transportation policy director. "Whether it's by states advancing public transit, clean fuels and smart growth, or by the government supporting development of advanced vehicles and actions that save oil, more steps must be taken to end an addiction that harms our wallets, economy and environment."
Further, the oil addiction report calls on the Obama administration to do more to influence state initiatives:
"The federal government should lower barriers to new adopters of advanced vehicles and alternative fuels, and implement a two-year transportation bill Congress passed last summer in ways that save oil."