MY YEAR ADVISING The National Petroleum Council

Last summer, the author was invited to advise the National Petroleum Council on energy supply. The National Petroleum Council is chartered under the Federal Advisory Committee Act and funded by industry. The Council staff launched a good faith effort to reach out beyond industry to a wide array of participants. Performance standards have a proven track record. One recommendation is to double new vehicle fuel economy, specifically: Based on a detailed review of technological potential, a doubling of fuel economy of new cars and light-trucks by 2030 is possible through the use of existing and anticipated technologies, assuming vehicle performance and other attributes remain the same as today. Depending upon how quickly new vehicle improvements become incorporated in the full fleet average, it should be possible to lower US oil demand by about three million to five million barrels per day by 2030.