Grist has a look at FedEx's efforts to reduce the company's exposure to oil prices and availability - Terrified by peak oil, FedEx turns to biofuels, efficiency.

FedEx owns 700 planes and tens of thousands of trucks, which is why CEO Fred Smith is crazy for energy efficiency, reports NPR.

Shortly after Smith founded Federal Express, the 1973 Arab oil embargo almost killed it. The experience imprinted Smith with a keen interest in the price and availability of oil.

FedEx’s forthcoming all-electric pickup and delivery vans will cost one-quarter as much to operate per mile as their gasoline equivalents, says Smith. He also predicts that electric vehicles will be in wide commercial use in about six years.

In the future, he sees his jets being powered by algae-based fuels, and his long-haul trucks running on natural gas. Smith is a staunch Republican, by the way, and a perfect example of how energy efficiency is a no-brainer that cuts across political lines.

FedEx chief Frederick Smith has spoken in front of a US Senate committee recommending that transport be electrified - FedEx CEO Smith Testifies on Plan to End Oil Dependence.

Frederick W. Smith, Chairman, President and CEO of FedEx Corporation, co-Chairman of the Energy Security Leadership Council, and a member of the Electrification Coalition, testified today at a hearing of the Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee. Smith spoke about the dangers posed by our nation's dependence on petroleum, and the plan to end that threat through the electrification of the ground transportation system. Following are excerpts from the testimony as prepared:

"Electricity represents a diverse, domestic, stable, fundamentally scalable energy supply whose fuel inputs are almost completely free of oil."

"We cannot let electric vehicles turn into another niche product. We cannot allow their use to be limited to environmentalists and technological enthusiasts. To make our nation's investment worthwhile"and, more importantly, to truly combat our oil dependence"we must put ourselves on the pathway toward millions, then tens of millions, and then hundreds of millions of electric cars and trucks.

"That is where this crucial legislation comes in."

"If this plan is successful, it would spur the production of electric vehicles, components, and infrastructure across the country. Much of the money that flows through deployment communities will end up in the towns and cities where the vehicles and charging infrastructure and their components are manufactured. When a factory reopens in a depressed area to build or support these vehicles"as we've already seen in places like Elkhart, Indiana and Livonia, Michigan"that is a real and tangible benefit for hardworking Americans."

"This effort is about building a new transportation system from the ground up in a fiscally responsible, competitive fashion. That's good for the entire nation."

"The public is demanding action. Electrification is truly bipartisan not just here in Washington but across the country. Americans often agree on challenges more than solutions, but that is not the case here. This proposal is popular, and it is popular for a reason."