Growth energy is beginning a nationwide campaign to require country of origin labeling for fuel. The Co-Chairman of Growth Energy, General Wesley Clark called on the United States Congress and the White House to take action to dramatically enhance the market transparency of the nation's fuel supply by requiring a national standard of country of origin labeling (COOL) for fuel. This initiative is being called, "Label My Fuel."
COOL is a term that many people have heard of before, but probably not when dealing with fuel. A few years back, the beef industry made a big push towards getting COOL for beef products. COOL allows individuals to know more about where their fuel is coming from, which is something that many supports believe is something that consumers deserve.
The goal is to help create consumer awareness of the costs and national security implications of the nation's addiction to foreign oil. Supporters of COOL believe that consumers deserve to know where their money is going. If consumers in the United States knew where their money was going, they might be more hesitant to buy the fuel. It is a great way to promote independence from foreign oil.
In an article from PRNewswire.com, Growth Energy showed the impact of the U.S.'s dependence on foreign oil with the following statistics:
- "The U.S. Department of Energy found that America's dependence on foreign oil has cost our country more than $7 trillion dollars over the last 30 years.
- The United States has sent as much as $500 billion a year overseas for oil -- a massive transfer of wealth.
- The Center for Forensic Economic Studies estimates that for every dollar spent on foreign crude oil, an additional $1.55 is removed from the U.S. economy.
- According to the Institute for the Analysis of Global Security, American taxpayers foot a $50 billion-a-year bill to secure petroleum shipping lanes."
Not only should this be a way for consumers to stop the dependence on foreign oil, but this should also be a way of encouraging the development and use of renewable resources. Something needs to replace the foreign oil, and renewable resources are the way to go. Also this should be a wake-up call in general for all consumer products. U.S. consumers should pay more and more attention to where products are made. If more and more consumers would not buy products from places like China, India, and Mexico and only buy products made in the U.S., the job market in the U.S. will boom.
The "Label My Fuel" initiative is a great way for the U.S. to take the next step in becoming more independent from foreign oil. It is about time.
Tags: Growth energy, General Wesley Clark, United States Congress, White House, country of origin labeling (COOL), foreign oil, PRNewswire.com, www.labelmyfuel.com
Jane -
ReplyDeleteArticles such as this one about oil consumption interest me quite a bit, but like you said, Americans don't know a lot of information about foreign oil, dependence, or oil consumption. One of the most important factors in this article is how we can diminish our dependence on foreign oil. Having just a little knowledge about where the oil is coming from would have an impact on the numbers of foreign oil. If other products such as coffee, mentioned on the website, have the country of origin labeling, why shouldn't oil? Everyone has a right to know where the oil is coming from. If oil was to have the labeling, we may see a decrease in our dependence on foreign oil. I would like to be able to see how the statistics would change.