"Mike Rapoport" wrote in message
link.net...
"Tom Sixkiller" wrote in message
...
"Mike Rapoport" wrote in message
ink.net...
Actually ending our dependence on foriegn oil would be pretty easy but
people don't want to do it. In round figures:
We import about a third of our Petroleum
Two thirds of petroleum is used for transportation
It is possible to cut transportation use in half through a combination
of
fuel efficiency and more efficient trip planning.
The reason we don't is that the costs are horrendous. As for trip
planning
and fuel efficiency, I'd like to see how Soccer Mom'sŪ driving SUV's and
mini-vans are going to improve their trip planning.
My wife goes to the grocery store (12 miles each way) almost everyday to
get something that she forgot the previous day, so she could certainly
improve her trip planning. As a result of cheap gasoline, people are
living
great distances from their workplace with commutes of over an hour being
common in many parts of the country. If gasoline was $5/gallon you would
see commute distances shorten, more telecommuting, smaller vehicles,
better
trip planning.
The economic costs of doing all this are tiny and probably there is
actually
a benefit. If there was simply a $4 tax on gasoline and an equivenenat
tax
credit (transferable) for income taxes, there would be no net economic
cost
and a huge incentive to use energy more efficiently. There would be
casualties in businesses catering to people traveling by auto but that is
about it.
What about the price of food?
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