Environmental Engineering Reference
In-Depth Information
Economics and Politics: The Real Cost of Gasoline in the United States
Many Americans
complain about
high and rising
gasoline prices.
But economists
and environmen-
talists point out that gasoline costs
U.S. consumers much more than it
appears. This is because
most of the
real cost of gasoline is not paid directly
at the pump.
According to a 1998 study by the
International Center for Technology
Assessment, the hidden costs of
gasoline to U.S. consumers approxi-
mate $1.30-3.70 per liter ($5-14 per
gallon), depending on how esti-
mates are constructed. These hid-
den costs include government sub-
sidies and tax breaks for oil compa-
nies and road builders, pollution
control and cleanup, military pro-
tection of oil supplies in the Middle
East, and environmental, health,
and social costs. The latter costs in-
clude increased medical bills and
insurance premiums, time wasted
in traffic jams, noise pollution, in-
creased mortality from air and wa-
ter pollution, urban sprawl, and
harmful effects on wildlife species
and habitats.
If these harmful costs were in-
cluded as taxes in the market price
of gasoline, we would have much
more energy-efficient and less pol-
luting cars. This would also in-
crease the country's military and
economic security by sharply re-
ducing U.S. dependence on im-
ported oil. But gasoline and car
companies benefit financially by be-
ing able to pass these hidden costs
on to consumers, future genera-
tions, and the environment.
This political stalemate could be
broken if two things happened.
First,
enough informed and commit-
ted voters could band together to
educate people and elected officials
about the need to impose much
higher gasoline taxes as an impor-
tant part of the country's national
and economic security.
Second,
these
voters could insist that the govern-
ment use most of the revenue from
higher gasoline taxes to reduce pay-
roll and income taxes and to pro-
vide an energy safety net for poor
and lower middle-class citizens.
CONNECTIONS
Critical Thinking
Would you support drastically
higher gasoline taxes if taxes on
your wages, income, and wealth
were reduced to the point where the
gasoline taxes would not increase
your living expenses? Explain.
Would you become involved in a
political movement to bring about
such a tax-shift policy? Explain.
the nation's current proven oil reserves, and save
enough oil to eliminate all current oil imports to the
United States from the Middle East. In 2003, China an-
nounced plans to impose much stricter fuel-efficiency
standards than the United States in an effort to reduce
the country's dependence on oil imports and reduce
carbon dioxide emissions.
2.2
2.0
1.8
1.6
x
H
OW
W
OULD
Y
OU
V
OTE
?
Should the government greatly
increase fuel efficiency standards for all vehicles in the United
States or the country where you live? Cast your vote online at
http://biology.brookscole.com/miller11.
1.4
1.2
Science: Hybrid and Fuel-Cell Cars
Fuel-efficient vehicles powered by a hybrid gas-
electric engine and electric vehicles powered
by fuel cells running on hydrogen are being
developed.
There is growing interest in developing
superefficient
cars
that could eventually get 34-128 kilometers per
liter (80-300 miles per gallon). Amory Lovins devel-
oped and promoted this concept in the 1980s. See his
Guest Essay on the website for this chapter.
One type of energy-efficient car uses a
hybrid-
electric internal combustion engine.
It runs on gasoline,
1.0
0.8
Year
Figure 13-23
Economics:
inflation-adjusted price of gasoline
(in 1993 dollars) in the United States, 1920-2005. The 225 mil-
lion motor vehicles in the United States use 40% of the world's
gasoline. Gasoline is one of the cheapest items American
consumers buy—it costs less per liter than bottled water. (Data
from U.S. Department of Energy)
