Look, I’m not opposed to anything that saves some energy. If you can leave your lights on less often, take less trips in your car or cook more meals at home you’ll probably save some money and use a bit less fuel. Good! But Obama’s recent comments about keeping your tires properly inflated to save energy have been around for a while. Check out this YouTube video.
Here’s where it came from:
The Carter Administration Published A Study That Proposed “Mandatory Tire Inflation Inspections” As Part Of Its “Energy Policy Blueprint For The Next Decade.” “A 45 mph speed limit during severe energy shortages and mandatory tire inflation inspections could become the law of the land under proposals in a new government study aimed at reducing oil imports. The study, released Tuesday and designed by the outgoing Carter administration as an energy policy blueprint for the next decade, finds the country could reduce oil imports by 2 million to 3 million barrels a day over the next 10 years.”
(Martin Crutsinger, “Lowered Speed Limits Proposed,” The Associated Press, 11/19/80)
Look, this is nothing new or brain trust oriented… if we can save some gas by having the correct tire pressure, great! But I’m afraid that isn’t the answer to our current energy problems, which are a fundamental problem of supply and demand. We need to supply more and consume less. This tire inflation meme is a helpful note, but if you think we’re not going to “drill our way out of this problem” well… we’re not going to inflate our tires out of it either.