Global Climate Change at Heart The world is built on fossil fuels. Everyday chores such as cutting the grass depend on those fuels as equally as electric power plants depend on coal. Sure, there are other fuels that can be used to create energy, but most are not as efficient as fossil fuels, and some sources take the food from our tables in order to make fuel. Ethanol is one such fuel. The largest consumer of fossil fuels in America and the world is the trucking industry. Here is the change of heart. The United States has done much to lower its carbon foot print. The trucking industry has seen very exciting changes and the way is being paved for a new America. The effect on global markets because of these changes has been very dramatic, leading …show more content…
The rise was so dramatic, the trucking industry could not afford to absorb the costs and created the fuel surcharge to offset the price at the pump. While this aided in lowering the price paid by the trucker, this cost was passed on to the consumer. The price of fuel caused the industry to become very concerned, though preservation of the environment was not the priority. In the market, the economy is the last thought, but due to the economy, actions taken by the industry have led to decreases in the amount of fuel being consumed by the trucking industry. (Fuel Surcharge Index 2016) To put this in prospective, the average truck runs more than 60000 miles a year. From 1950 through 1990, the average truck consumed 4 miles to the gallon on the lower end, but never above 6 miles to the gallon. It is more recent trucks that are able to reach the 6 miles per gallon range and better. It was not until after 1990 that trucks began to move higher on the scale, and today, semis are getting more than 8 to 10 miles per gallon. Now it is time for the math. (Tarantola 2013) At 60K a year, divided by 4MPG, we have 15K gallons of fuel a year per truck. At 6MPG, it is 10K. At 8MPH, it is 7500 gallons a year. At 10MPG, it is 6000 gallons a year. One barrel of oil is said to create about 10 gallons of diesel fuel. (Econtrader 2014) Therefore, 15K gallons of diesel is 1500 barrels of oil a year; 10K is 1000