December 21, 2011
A change in your pump means change in your pocket
Everyday American families hit a new record this year – but not one they wish they’d hit. According to several news reporters and analyses, Americans spent a record amount on gasoline this year. A piece by CNBC found that the average U.S. household spent $4,155 filling up – or about 8.4 percent of the median household income.
This isn’t good news at a time when average Americans are already struggling with an economy that has sagged – and sagged – and sagged.
There’s one bright spot, but you have to go South Dakota to find it. Lawmakers in that state have opened the door to a real open fuels market with a vote to create a grant program to help fuel retailers install Flex Fuel pumps.
Flex Fuel pumps dispense fuel with blends from E10 (10 percent ethanol), to E30, all the way up to an E85 blend. With a Flex Fuel pump, a motorist can make the choice, instead of having their choice made for them.
Flex Fuel pumps are the key to reducing America’s gas bills and reducing our dependence on foreign oil. Ethanol is the most affordable motor fuel on the planet and it also creates jobs and helps our Midwestern economies.
A study by the National Renewable Energy Laboratory, in conjunction with McKinsey and Company, found that ethanol keeps U.S. retail gasoline prices about 17 cents per gallon lower, providing annual savings of $115 per driver.
Flex Fuel pumps let the consumer decide what they want to put in their gas tank based on price and performance.
We know Flex Fuel pumps work because in places like North Dakota and Minnesota ethanol sales have skyrocketed – more than two or three hundred percent since the Flex Fuel pumps were put into the ground.
By removing the barriers that prevent access to renewable energy produced right here in America, we can replace more of the oil we import from the Middle East, lower fuel prices and keep more dollars in the pockets of everyday Americans.
As the saying goes, change is good.
