Top 20 States For Total Consumer Pocketbook Savings From Higher Federal Fuel Economy Standards to Be Announced

Analysis by NRDC, UCS Shows AZ, CA, CO, FL, GA, IL, LA, MD, MA, MI, MN, MO, NY, NC, OH, PA, TN, TX, VA and WA Come Out on Top in Savings for Consumers.

WASHINGTON, Oct. 4, 2011 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ — New fuel economy standards announced by the Obama administration to require automakers to achieve a fleet fuel economy average of 54.5 miles per gallon (MPG) by 2025 will save Americans billions of dollars at the gas pump and slash the nation’s dependence on oil by billions of gallons of gasoline, according to a new analysis being released by the Natural Resources Defense Council (NRDC) and the Union of Concerned Scientists (UCS), both members of the Go60MPG.org coalition.

The new analysis features a state-by-state breakdown on total pocketbook savings at the gas pump, and an average savings figure per household.

The details on the top 20 states for total consumer savings will be announced (in alphabetical order): Arizona, California, Colorado, Florida, Georgia, Illinois, Louisiana, Maryland, Massachusetts, Michigan, Minnesota, Missouri, New York, North Carolina, Ohio, Pennsylvania, Tennessee, Texas, Virginia, and Washington.

WHO:
Luke Tonachel, senior vehicles analyst, Natural Resources Defense Council;

Brendan Bell, senior Washington representative, Union of Concerned Scientists’ Clean Vehicles program.

WHEN:
Wednesday, October 5, 2011

TIME:
1 p.m. Eastern Daylight Time

CALL-IN INFORMATION: Join the live, phone-based news conference (with full, two-way Q&A) at 1 p.m. EDT on October 5, 2011 by dialing (800) 860-2442. Ask for the “fuel savings analysis” news event.

CAN’T PARTICIPATE?: A streaming audio replay of the news event will be available on the Web at www.Go60MPG.org of 6 p.m. EDT on October 5, 2011.

The Natural Resources Defense Council (NRDC) is an international nonprofit environmental organization with more than 1.3 million members and online activists. Since 1970, our lawyers, scientists, and other environmental specialists have worked to protect the world’s natural resources, public health, and the environment. NRDC has offices in New York City, Washington, D.C., Los Angeles, San Francisco, Chicago, Livingston, Montana, and Beijing. Visit us at www.nrdc.org.

The Union of Concerned Scientists is the leading U.S. science-based nonprofit organization working for a healthy environment and a safer world. Founded in 1969, UCS is headquartered in Cambridge, Massachusetts, and also has offices in Berkeley, Chicago and Washington, D.C. For more information, go to www.ucsusa.org.

Go60MPG is a joint effort of Environment America, the National Wildlife Federation, Natural Resources Defense Council, the Safe Climate Campaign, the Sierra Club, and the Union of Concerned Scientists. American ingenuity and technology can make all-new cars and trucks cleaner and more fuel-efficient. It’s one of the biggest steps America can take towards saving money at the gas pump, cleaning up our air, and ending America’s oil dependence. That’s why Go60MPG is rallying public support to raise fuel efficiency standards for new cars to at least 60 miles per gallon and no more than 143 grams per mile of carbon pollution by 2025. Go60MPG also wants to see improvements in America’s big rigs and other work trucks.

SOURCE Natural Resources Defense Council and Union of Concerned Scientists, members of Go60MPG