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Before we head south to Columbus, here are a couple quick headlines worth inspecting.
From the Wall Street Journal: Higher Oil Prices Help OPEC Set Revenue Record
Also, oil futures settled at a record high today.
If we adopt a 35 mpg standard, by 2018, we'll save 1.6 million barrels of oil a day, roughly the same amount that we import from Saudi Arabia every single day.
The 1908 Ford Model T averaged 25 miles per gallon. Amazingly, that's about what new cars average today!
This roadster -- a 1932 Ford Coupe -- doesn't even meet that paltry mileage. The owner told me his hot rod averages less than 20 mpg. Ouch!
If given the choice between our snazzy hybrid SUV and the Coupe, I'm pretty sure I know which one my son, Brooks, would rather drive. But he's 7 years old. By the time he gets his driver's license I'm guessing he'll be more appreciate of the importance of saving money at the pump.
If Congress votes the right way on fuel efficiency, cars and trucks will average 35 mpg by 2019 -- just when Brooks will be in the market for his first car.
Too bad for him that Hot Rods definitely won't be an option.
Here's our story from today's paper in Elyria. We're expecting a follow up tomorrow.
Fuel Economy Campaign to Park at Elyria City Hall
By Cindy Leise
ELYRIA - It's green, and it's rolling into town at noon today.
The "Drive Beyond Oil" tour will stop in front of City Hall on Ely Square to encourage passers-by to call their congressional representatives to enact tougher fuel economy standards for America's cars and trucks.
The organizers will walk around Ely Square in their "35 mpg or bust" T-shirts and hand people cell phones so they can call their congressional representative on the spot.
"They don't even have to dial," said Rob Perks, director of the Natural Resources Defense Fund Action Fund and one of three road trippers.
Lorain County is considered a key area because U.S. Rep. Betty Sutton, D-Copley, might be willing to raise fuel economy standards, Perks said.
"Sutton hasn't stated her position yet - she's wide open," Perks said.
U.S. Rep. Marcy Kaptur, D-Toledo, is considered a tougher sell, having supported a less aggressive approach to fuel economy standards that is favored by the U.S. auto industry.
A vote is expected in the next several days on an energy bill that includes the new standards. Last month, the Senate passed a bill requiring the adoption of the 35 mph standard by 2020.
If the 35 mpg standard goes into effect, the Union of Concerned Scientists estimates that Ohioans would save $1.4 billion a year in gas by 2020, or $3,600 a year per family, according to Perks.
The tour spent time Monday in Youngstown in an attempt to sway U.S. Rep. Tim Ryan, D-Youngstown. Previously, the tour, which began last Tuesday, visited parts of Maryland, New York and Pennsylvania.
Perks said there's one minor flaw in the effort - the group was unable to rent a hybrid manufactured by a U.S. carmaker for the trip.
Instead, they are tooling around in a Toyota Highlander hybrid, which is getting 33 mph in its four-wheel drive version. Last year, the group averaged 41 mpg in a similar tour in a hybrid Ford Escape, but all attempts to rent another Escape this year were fruitless, he said.
Elyria is a lovely name for a town -- and a fitting one. The town square in the heart of downtown looks too charming to be real. Like a Hollywood-inspired 'Pleasantville' or maybe the small town depicted in 'Back to the Future.'
Not only is the setting lovely, but so are the people. Here, like everywhere else on our trek, just about everyone we met not only thinks that making cars and trucks go farther on a gallon of gas is common-sense, but they were happy to phone in that message to Congress.
With a reporter and photographer from the Chronicle-Telegram in tow, we had great success with folks.
Take Barb, for example. She doesn't even drive but says her 'lady friend' takes her around town and the gas costs add up quickly.
Frank is a cook who used to work at a restaurant right off the town square. But his new job requires a 20-minute drive out of Elyria -- and he definitely notices gas prices a lot more now. Frank is a fit guy, who stopped to chat on his way to the local gym. On the phone, the message he sent to Rep. Betty Sutton was, "I'm a strong guy and I want strong fuel economy standards."
Louis was spending time in the park with his adorable grandson. A UAW member now retired from a nearby Ford plant, Lewis said, "You know I can't afford gas prices!"
A couple of ladies and a gentleman were concerned at first that we were promoting a 35 mile per hour standard. Once we cleared that up, they were more than happy to support the cause. One of them said she thought better fuel economy was already taken care of -- so it's about time Congress did something.
From couples with kids to retirees enjoying the pleasant day on park benches, everyone in Elyria enthusiatically embraced our message and -- even better -- took action by making their voices heard in Washington, D.C.
We had such a great time with folks in Elyria that it was hard to leave. But now it's on to Sandusky!
As we ping-pong across the state spreading our "35 mpg or Bust" message to the people, we take great pains to accomodate the press. Usually this means driving out of our way to get to the reporter's location -- always on his or her deadline -- to do a "meet-up" or sometimes a "drive-a-long".
Yesterday, for example, we traveled to Youngstown and parked outside a coffee shop downtown where we were told a camera crew from the local TV station would join us. After wolfing down delicious ham sandwiches at the Bean Counter, lo and behold the "Action News" van rolled to a stop out front. Out popped a lovely journalist and her burly camera man. We spent the next 15 minutes doing our thing in front of the camera -- which entailed patrolling the concrete near our hybrid and talking to complete strangers passing by on the sidewalk.
Unless you're asking for directions, chatting up strangers is never easy -- but it can be fun. That's especially true when someone listens to your pitch about fuel economy, gets it, and then agrees on the spot to make a phone call to their congressperson. Sometimes having a TV camera aimed at them can help, but it can also hurt. (See Scott's blog earlier today about fugitives from the law who treat media like celebrities do the paprazzi.)
But camera or no, we try to engage as many people on the street as possible, and so far our experiences have all been positive.
So, after the Youngstown "shoot" we hopped in the hybrid and sped off to the tiny town of Warren about an hour away. There we picked up a local newspaper reporter in front of his office and headed off to the only place in town where we could find a crowd. At the park there was a softball tournament underway, so this proved to be a veritable hot sport for civic engagement. Every time we got someone to call his or her congressperson, the reporter swooped in to interview the person and get their name. We haven't seen the story that resulted, but my guess is that today's issue will be a big seller since so many locals will be curious to see if they made it into the paper.
With Warren done we headed west to Akron, where once again we were told to set up our operation and then alert the local TV station. Instead of a crew this time, we got a lone camera man. No reporter showed up to interview us, and the camera guy didn't even ask us any questions. He just quietly filmed us talking to folks like we usually do. 
Seemed unusual, but no matter.
To our surprise, we found out later that the piece was being "packaged" for prime-time on the 11 o'clock news broadcast on NBC in Cleveland. That means the footage was paired with a voice-over by the TV anchor, who was usuing our press release to "report" on our trip.
Alas, even though we were all excited to watch the coverage last night, we were all too tired to stay up for the news. So if anyone in the Cleveland metropolitan area happened to catch the broadcast, let us know how it went. Better yet, keep an eye out for us as we hit the streets today in the western suburbs (and Toledo beyond) and offer up a minute of your time to talk about fuel economy.
Meet Jim, from Cleveland. He's on the job today, applying tar sealant between the cracks of the steps in front of the Rock 'n Roll Hall of Fame. Jim drove his Chevy pick-up to the job-site. The more he pays for gas, the less he takes home in his paycheck.
Jim's all about cars that go farther on a gallon of gas. He compliments my red t-shirt, with its "35 mpg or Bust" logo. I compliment his red t-shirt, and tell him that saving gas is patriotic.
When Jim learns that Congress has an historic opportunity to pass energy legislation that will ensure more fuel efficient cars and trucks, he jumps at the chance to make a call to his congressman. I overhear him tell the legislative staffer, "Tell my congress guy to vote for cars getting better mileage, and tell him lower gas prices wouldn't hurt either."
People like Jim have the power to persuade their elected officials to support policies that ease people's pain at the pump, reduce global warming pollution, and end America's oil addiction.
At the 35 mpg standard, drivers in Ohio would save an estimated $1.4 billion in gasoline per year by 2020. Families nationwide would save an average of $3,600 in gas over the lifetime of their vehicles.
Within a couple of minutes, Jim is hard at work again. Now it's time for Congress to get to work and deliver for Jim and everyone else. Our rally cry: 35 mpg or Bust!
On Monday morning, we begin the second leg of our Drive Beyond Oil tour, blazing through Ohio to rally support for fuel economy legislation that will be on the floor of the House of Representatives this week. Ohio is an appropriate place from which to project a rallying cry for better federal fuel economy legislation, as the state has lent its ills to similar efforts in the past.
38 years ago, on June 23, 1969, the Cuyahoga River in Cleveland caught on fire. That's right, a river, with water (if you could call it that) in it, caught on fire. Industrial waste, oil, and other pollution was blamed for the conflagration. Academy Award winner Randy Newman even wrote a song about the Cuyahoga entitled Burn on, Big River (scroll down the page halfway...you can even listen to it).
The fire department quickly contained the fire on that fateful June day, but the symbolism of a river in flames was profound and powerful. The Cuyahoga River fire paved the way for one of the nation's premier environmental laws, the Clean Water Act, which was passed in 1972. This legislation has helped countless rivers throughout the nation improve over the last 35 years, and we no longer have to worry about our nation's waterways catching fire.
The Cuyahoga River was the poster child for the Clean Water Act, and this week we're here to make the great state of Ohio the poster child for the strongest fuel economy legislation being offered, H. R. 1506. Every state and citizen will benefit from this legislation, but Ohio in particular stands to gain a lot. According to the Union of Concerned Scientists, the state could gain 10,500 jobs and Ohio citizens could save 1.4 billion dollars a year by 2020 at the gas pump. The University of Michigan just released a study showing that Ford, GM, and Chrysler will benefit from the passage of the strongest fuel economy legislation, and with the auto industry's deep roots in Ohio, the state will reap these benefits in the form of jobs gained, or at least not lost, which is happening in Ohio and everywhere else right now as The Big Three lose market share to other firms.
I haven't heard of any songs written about how our cars burn too much gasoline, but if you know of one, please tell me. In the meantime, the NRDC Action Fund Drive Beyond Oil team will be trekking through Ohio to generate more calls to Congress in support of raising fuel economy standards to 35 mpg by 2019. When the Cuyahoga burned 38 years ago, our country finally realized that something had to be done about water pollution. After 35 years of the Clean Water Act, our nation's rivers aren't perfect, but they're better. If we raise fuel economy standards to 35 mpg, its a big step in the right direction, but it's only the beginning. Our dependence on foreign oil and the threat of global warming are far more difficult challenges to address than the burning Cuyahoga, and it's going to take more than one piece of legislation to do the trick. Raising fuel economy standards is arguably the best first step, though, and now is the time for Congress to act.
