By Denna Bowman
President Barack Obama has grabbed the opportunity to return to a key issue from the 2008 presidential campaign – properly inflated tyres.
He diverted from a speech challenging American’s to do more to conserve energy on Earth Day earlier this week, to drive home his message again about how checking the pressure in tyres can help the environment.
“When gas was real high, I suggested during the campaign the one small step Americans could take would be to keep their tyres inflated. Everybody teased me,” Obama recalled.
“They said, “Oh, look! Look! That’s Obama’s Energy Policy! My opponent sent around tyre gauges.”
However, he told the audience in Newton, the American people are ready to participate in a “national effort” to transform the way energy is used in the US.
“I think the American people are ready to be part of a mission. I believe that,” Obama said.
“It’s not just keeping your tyres inflated. If each one of us just replaced one ordinary incandescent light bulb with one of those compact fluorescent light bulbs — you know, the squirrelly ones — that could save enough energy to light three million homes.”