I suppose it all depends on what your goals are. If our goals are to stop pollution *eventually* we may very well die trying.

I think the elimination of income tax and the rise of sales taxes is something that should be considered. But, that's a whole different beast.

 

....the best I can come up with is reduce income taxes, but proportionally raise gas pump prices at least $1 a gallon. In general, people would pay the same amount of taxes, but the "rebate" would be using less gas.

I realize that no plans is perfect. Truckers for instance would fight this to death unless their situation was addressed, etc....

Somebody mentioned that few new roads have been built since 1990, but the number of American drivers has gone up considerably. Also, a lot of bridges need repair. If this was some other market situation, the prices would go up as the demand increases.

As long as gas is relatively cheap, few will bother to save energy.

 

I agree with you Jason that most people don't truly need the vehicles they buy, or at least not in that shape or form. That applies not just to SUVs, but also to many sports cars (and some of them get great mileage like the Miata, others don't). My main reason for this argument is that 50 years ago, many people got by just fine with smaller cars with smaller engines, and much better mileage. We certainly have benefitted from technology developments in terms of safety and comfort, but I still believe 95% of drivers don't need a vehicle with 250+ horses that get less than 30 mpg.

 

I would support an increase in gas costs. Many studies have shown a clear, strong inverse relationship between gas prices and consumption: the higher the prices, the lower the consumption. I believe in the principle (not reallly implemented in the US) that thr true costs of certain actions / processes should be born by said processes. True costs include pollution and any required remedial action. It's a long topic, but I think gas prices should not be under $4 per gallon. I know truckers and many others would raise a stink, but higher diesel costs for truckers should simply be transfered to consumers of trucked goods. One reason we are so dependent on oil in the US is that transportation (not just trucking) is too cheap. When thinking about that, it appears ridiculous that a pastic toy we buy at walmart for $10 has this transportation history: oil comes from persian gulf to US, is refined and made into chemicals, that are transported to e.g. China to be turned into plastic, which is transported elsewhere to be made into the finished toy, which is transported back to the US to be sold at WM. The amount of pollution associated with this is absolutely inordinate. If transportation costs truly were forced to bear these costs, the products woudl simply become more expensive and be less frequently bought, and precious petrochemicals could be saved for more vital products such as in the pharmaceutical industry.
Bottom line is: I'd say let's jack up the price of fuel by about 100%!

 

Yup, that has definitely worked over here in the $6 per gallon UK!

 

American society is much more built around the car than Europe, so I doubt people would drive a lot less if gas prices were $4 or so a gallon, but there would probably be a lot more compact cars on the road.

 

People drove a lot less in the 70's when the US had peak oil and the price of gas doubled. That alone caused world peak oil to be delayed by 5-10 years, so I think the gas prices will, and certainly can make a difference.

 

There's been a lot discussed about objectives. So what is the objective?

First, hybrid technology has to survive. It has to become mainstream. It will change our mindset, and open the door for more agressive alternatives that are better than hybrid technology. If hybrids die out, it's only a handicap to the other technologies waiting to happen. How are you going to mainstream a car that has a completely different energy source if you haven't warmed people up to the idea that a car can run on more than gas and work?

To make it survive it has to be purchased. It must become normal, not the exception. So someone buys a hybrid SUV that only increases the MPG 4-5 over the standard version. It still does a couple things. One, sends a message to auto makers we'll buy this. Two, what do you think that this SUV owner may eventually buy a more agressive FE car. "Hey, this worked out OK in my SUV - let's replace the family car with Prius".

As the technology is purchased, it will get more attention, more research, and eventually better. Whatever we can do to get the technology purchased, all the better. To base it on mileage just opens a can of worms. How much mileage is enough? 35? 40? 60? What do you bet this just results in bogus mileage claims?

Anyway, I just think we need to find ways for people to become hybrid owners, not resent them.

 

I think many of you are forgetting the negative impacts of raising gas taxes and the like. Besides unhappy citizens, you're also killing business. Think of the shipping companies, the food distributors, the technology businesses who send parts across the country. They need to transport. The world isn't all about consumers. It's also about producers. Raising gas taxes means raising prices for products in almost every market, causing severe inflation and other related problems.

I have concerns over any interest groups because they rarely look at the big picture, just as a drowning person will pull anyone else down to save themselves.

 

Agreed.

The price and quality of hybrids will improve when tens of millions are sold, not just thousands. People should be encouraged to buy them simply to improve the technology. If some want to buy hybrid land barges as commutes, raise the CAFE standards.