WASHINGTON— With the largest civilian fleet in the world — nearly 214,000 vehicles traveling nearly 1.3 billion miles each year — the U.S. Postal Service knows a lot about vehicles and tire pressure. Summer driving season is approaching and the Maintain Tire Pressure postage stamp helps remind motorists that proper tire pressure can help improve gas mileage. It’s one of the 16 Go Green Forever stamps issued by USPS.

“The Postal Service is building a culture of conservation that benefits our workplace and the communities we serve,” said Thomas G. Day, chief sustainability officer. “We believe the tried and true tips our letter carriers use to conserve fuel when delivering mail can also help motorists during summer driving season, and year round.”

Fuel conservation tips:

• ·         Use air to save fuel — Underinflated tires can increase fuel consumption by as much as 4 percent and lead to excessive tire wear. Properly inflated tires are safer and last longer.
• ·         Don’t idle — Idling uses at least a half gallon of fuel per hour and releases excess carbon dioxideand other pollutants into the atmosphere.
• ·         Drive the speed limit — Speeding is dangerous and, at highway speeds, fuel economy drops for every one mile per hour driven over the speed limit.
• ·         Make gradual starts and stops — Quick accelerations consume more fuel than gradual starts.

USPS has been environmentally friendly since 1899 when it tested its first electric vehicle in Buffalo, NY. Today, it operates nearly 41,000 alternative fuel-capable mail delivery vehicles across the country, including ethanol, biodiesel, compressed natural gas and electric. Between 2005 and 2011, USPS has increased its use of alternative fuels 128 percent.

The Postal Service has won numerous environmental honors, including the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency’s (EPA) WasteWise Partner of the Year award in 2010 and 2011, the EPA’s National Partnership for Environmental Priorities award in 2011 and the Climate Registry Gold award in 2011.

USPS is the first federal agency to publicly report its greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions and receive third-party verification of the results. For more information about the Postal Service’s sustainability initiatives and the Go Green Forever stamps, visit usps.com/green and the usps green newsroom.

USPS participates in the International Post Corporation’s Environmental Measurement and Monitoring System, the global postal industry’s program to reduce its carbon footprint 20 percent by 2020 based on an FY 2008 baseline.

The Postal Service receives no tax dollars for operating expenses and relies on the sale of postage, products and services to fund its operations.