Since 1980, the U.S. Gross Domestic Product is up more than 196 percent, our population has grown 47 percent, vehicle miles traveled have grown 108 percent and energy consumption is up 29 percent. Yet, over the same period of time, we cut the six most common emissions by more than 73 percent and ozone levels decreased by more than 30 percent. We have preserved and protected land and water resources by implementing waste management programs and adhering to federal guidelines that govern effluent discharge, hazardous waste disposal and other priority areas.
We have made great progress in environmental stewardship under the Clean Air Act, the Clean Water Act and many other environmental regulations, and continue to innovate to evolve our operations and products. While we support sound policies and regulations, and the goal of reducing emissions, we oppose regulations that make unreasonable and often conflicting demands on U.S. refiners and petrochemical manufacturers to make major changes in their processes.