As the world's biggest oil consumer, the United States needs to work much harder to reduce waste, stressed a land-use and transportation-planning expert in a keynote address for the Young Global Leaders Summit on the Cornell campus Sept. 30.

America's dependence on oil must be mitigated, said Deron Lovaas, director of the oil security issue campaign for the Natural Resources Defense Council (NRDC). The best way to do that, he said, is to build new coalitions to offer consumers more choices in vehicle, fuels and travel modes.

"We need to squeeze waste out of our economy sector," said Lovaas, speaking in Uris Hall auditorium.

"[We need to] build more hybrid cars and increase incentives for consumers to buy them; boost credit for biofuel pumps; and move beyond corn as quickly as possible [as raw material] to produce ethanol."

About 80 students from Cornell and other universities attended the summit, which was organized by Americans for Informed Democracy (AID), a nonpartisan organization of about 1,200 students on 500 campuses and a partner of NRDC, a nonprofit environmental-action organization.

Lovaas pointed out that rising oil prices may be a shock to the U.S. economy but have a much bigger impact in developing countries. "For every $10 [increase in the price of a barrel], the impact on developing economies is three times that of here in the U.S. If you think you felt pain at the pump in recent years, let me tell you that it is nothing compared to the developing countries," he said.

U.S. oil dependency also raises alarming environmental problems. "The U.S. is the biggest polluter by far," he claimed. "Even though China is growing rapidly, in 2025, the U.S. is still going to be the biggest polluter of the world."

Greenhouse gas emissions have a direct effect on the climate, and Lovaas warned that climate change can have dire consequences for forests, agriculture, water resources and many other areas. "It seems like climate change affects not only the quality of life for us in the United States, but could also be a life-and-death threat for people in some other parts of the world," he warned.

The afternoon panel, which included members of local environmental groups, community leaders and several Cornell researchers, covered such topics as what the United States and international community should do to ensure a sustainable energy policy that does not inflict undue damage on the environment, and what steps communities, businesses and individuals need to take to help make changes that are economically feasible for most Americans.

Zheng Yang is a writer intern at the Cornell Chronicle.