2012 Used Oil Recycling in the US
I first became aware of the problem of improper disposal of motor oil and of the pollution of my local watershed of Little Falls in Bethesda, MD, which runs into one of the drinking water reservoirs of our nation’s capital in 1976. I was outraged. My father’s 40-year career as a congressional aide to both the U.S. House’s Ways and Means Committee and to the Senate Finance Committee gave me firsthand exposure to the workings of oil tax subsidies. Ironically, we do little to benefit from oil pollution prevention although more people recycle now than vote. Still, we have a long way to go in dealing with oil waste by-products. Last year the nation’s leading energy expert estimated that the US spent between $49 billion and $100 billion on energy subsidies in 2007. In the late 1970’s, millions of dollars were given to states following on a multi-billion dollar law suit settlement from oil overcharges awarded to the Department of Energy to promote energy conservation measures. And yet, the