Unless the federal government steps up, two programs that help Nova Scotians reduce their fuel costs and carbon emissions will be forced to shut down, Liberal MP Geoff Regan said today.
DriveWiser and FleetWiser have received a large part of their funding from Natural Resources Canada through the ecoEnergy for Personal Vehicles and ecoEnergy Fleet programs for the last five years. That funding comes to an end March 31, 2011.
“Canada has the third highest carbon monoxide emissions per person. To me, that’s shameful and I believe we need programs like DriveWiser and FleetWiser to help cut back on our consumption of fossil fuels and reduce our impact on the environment,” said the Halifax West MP.
DriveWiser has provided information to 120,000 Nova Scotians about how to improve the fuel efficiency of their vehicle through presentations, in-car training, advertising and social media. FleetWiser works with governments, utilities and businesses to help reduce fuel consumption and pollution from their vehicle fleets.
Regan participated in DriveWiser’s in-car training in February and learned techniques to reduce the carbon monoxide emissions produced by his Toyota Prius by 237 kg per year and save $108.05 in fuel costs annually.
“I was amazed by how much I could improve my fuel efficiency by doing simple things like coasting to a stop and regularly checking the air pressure in my tires,” Regan said. “Imagine how much air pollution we could cut back if all Nova Scotians learned the DriveWiser tips.”
Regan has written to Natural Resources Minister, Christian Paradis asking that the department continue to provide funding for DriveWiser and FleetWiser after the end of March.
“These programs help individuals, businesses and governments save money of fuel and reduce green house gas emissions for very little cost to the federal government. I would hate to see their success cut short because the Conservative government dropped the ball.”
Source: http://www.bedfordbeacon.com/regan-urges-conservatives-to-keep-fuel-efficiency-programs
