00                         SENATE RESOLUTION NO. 10                                                                       
01 Supporting expansion of the use of domestic natural gas and alternative energies and                                    
02 urging agencies to use vehicles that run on compressed natural gas.                                                     
03 BE IT RESOLVED BY THE SENATE:                                                                                           
04       WHEREAS the United States imports more than 65 percent of its petroleum, two-                                   
05 thirds of which is used in the form of gasoline and diesel fuel to power vehicles; and                                  
06       WHEREAS a large percentage of worldwide petroleum reserves are located in                                       
07 politically volatile countries, making the United States vulnerable to supply disruptions; and                          
08       WHEREAS the United States has an abundance of natural gas; and                                                  
09       WHEREAS compressed natural gas provides safe, clean, reliable, efficient, and                                   
10 secure energy and is the alternative fuel most used today for transportation in the United                              
11 States with more than 200,000 buses, taxis, delivery vehicles, and other fleet vehicles across                          
12 the nation using compressed natural gas daily; and                                                                      
13       WHEREAS the United States Department of Energy states that compressed natural                                   
14 gas can be used as a replacement for gasoline in light-duty vehicles and as a replacement for                           
15 diesel in heavy-duty vehicles; and                                                                                      
16       WHEREAS vehicles powered by compressed natural gas discharge far fewer harmful                                  

01 emissions than vehicles powered by gasoline or diesel fuel; and                                                         
02       WHEREAS studies indicate that maintenance costs for vehicles powered by                                         
03 compressed natural gas are lower than for vehicles powered by gasoline or diesel fuel; and                              
04       WHEREAS the federal government currently provides, and is expected to increase,                                 
05 incentives for use of alternative fuels, and, at the current prices of various fuels, any                               
06 additional cost to purchase vehicles to run on compressed natural gas would be quickly                                  
07 recouped; and                                                                                                           
08       WHEREAS, in 2009, the United States imported 4,350,000,000 barrels of oil,                                      
09 spending roughly $265,000,000,000; and                                                                                  
10       WHEREAS 85,000,000 barrels of oil are produced daily around the world; and                                      
11       WHEREAS 21,000,000 barrels of oil are used daily in the United States; and                                      
12       WHEREAS world oil production has been declining since 2005; and                                                 
13       WHEREAS roughly 20 percent of every barrel of oil imported into the United States                               
14 is used to fuel the transport of goods around the country by road;                                                      
15       BE IT RESOLVED that the Alaska State Senate supports expanding the use of                                       
16 domestic natural gas reserves and alternative energies to reduce our reliance on imported oil                           
17 by supporting H.R. 1835 and S. 1408, which are under consideration by the United States                                 
18 Congress; and be it                                                                                                     
19       FURTHER RESOLVED that the Alaska State Senate urges state and federal                                           
20 agencies to purchase, when possible, vehicles that can be converted to run on compressed                                
21 natural gas, when it is available.                                                                                      
22       COPIES of this resolution shall be sent to the Honorable Barack Obama, President of                             
23 the United States; the Honorable Dan Boren, U.S. Representative; the Honorable Robert                                   
24 Menendez, U.S. Senator; the Honorable Sean Parnell, Governor of Alaska; and the Honorable                               
25 Lisa Murkowski and the Honorable Mark Begich, U.S. Senators, and the Honorable Don                                      
26 Young, U.S. Representative, members of the Alaska delegation in Congress.