October 12, 2005—President Bush called on all executive departments and agencies in a September 26 memo to take appropriate energy and fuel conservation actions in order to reduce the overall demand of fuel and to allow extra supplies to be used for the efforts associated with Hurricanes Katrina and Rita.
The president asked federal agencies to temporarily curtail non-essential travel and other activities that use gasoline or diesel fuel, and encourage employees to carpool, telecommute, and use public transportation to reduce fuel use.
In addition, he asked federal agencies to conserve natural gas and electricity during periods of peak consumption by shifting energy-intensive activities to non-peak periods wherever possible and by procuring and using efficient Energy Star-rated energy intensive appliances and products.
As an example of how federal agencies are responding, the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) is taking such immediate actions as:
- Adjusting the temperatures in EPA buildings to an average of 68 degrees;
- Removing unnecessary light bulbs in some hallways;
- Turning off the historic fountains in the courtyard areas; and
- Limiting the courtyard lighting at night and turning it off during the day.
The president has asked that the agencies report by October 26 on their fuel conservation actions.
