A Message from Gregory C. Staple, CEO

Dear Friend,

Let me be direct.

We need your support for a practical new energy and environmental initiative that will actually make a difference in Washington, D.C.

Our plan is pretty simple: Just leverage the $150 billion the U.S. government spends each year on freight and delivery services to drive the growth of natural gas, electric and other alternative fuel vehicles. No new legislation. No new tax credits. No new regulation.

All we need are new contracts — contracts that commit the government to buy more transportation services from vendors that use alternative fuel vehicles, and buy less from those that don’t. It will save Uncle Sam money; help us clean up the air; improve our energy security; and build the market for clean transportation nationwide.

Simply put, when it comes to reducing America’s oil dependency and curbing harmful tailpipe emissions, we want to start at the federal government’s own loading docks and at every drop box for overnight delivery.

We spelled out this plan last year in a comprehensive report entitled Oil Shift: The Case for Switching Federal Transportation Spending to Alternative Fuel Vehicles. And because the Oil Shift plan requires no new legislation, regulations or taxes, it is something that, with a firm nudge, agencies can start working on today.

That’s why the smart money — your contributions too, we hope — is on our side. Our program can actually deliver results in 2013 and beyond – and it will change the facts on the ground rather than lead to endless policy discussions, fruitless debates on Capitol Hill, or a protracted regulatory fight in the courts.

Your donation will directly drive our campaign to cut government costs and promote energy action by directing major federal transportation contracts to vendors that can deliver savings by using alternative fuel vehicles. We have already targeted a new $1.5 billion government-wide package delivery contract to be advertised this year. And several DoD and U.S. Postal Service contracts offer similar opportunities for petroleum and emission reductions.

Let me answer two questions I frequently get. First, what about changing the fuel used in the government’s own cars and trucks? That’s important too. But we did the math. The gasoline and diesel costs passed on to federal agencies by their transport contractors is probably 50 times or more what agencies spend refueling their own fleets. In any case, by 2015, with limited exception, federal agencies must buy only alternative fuel vehicles.

Second, what about America’s new boom in unconventional oil and natural gas? It’s a fact. And most welcome. But we need to use this new bounty wisely and efficiently. And we should do our best to substitute natural gas (and electricity) for petroleum fuels where that makes sense to power our delivery fleets and our heavy duty trucks. That’s what our campaign is all about.

So, if you have a stake in building out a clean energy supply chain, or if you care about energy security, or the environment, or cutting costs in Washington, or “all of the above,” act now.

Give us your support and help our Oil Shift team stay on course — running best practice workshops for federal agencies on clean transportation contracts; expanding our educational publications; and spearheading our agency-by-agency contract interventions. We know how to get the job done — we just need your individual or corporate contribution today.

Sincerely,
Gregory Staple
CEO, American Clean Skies Foundation