Raising Taxes at the Fuel Pump

U.S. consumption of oil for personal transportation is a problematic issue for two main reasons: first because the supply of oil is finite, and secondly because the burning of fossil fuels such as oil adds disproportionate amounts of CO2 to the atmosphere, a gas that is in part responsible for global warming. Curtailing the miles the average citizen drives per year or increasing the efficiency of those miles, could serve to extend our oil supply as well as reduce CO2 emissions.

"Total U.S. car and light truck VMT [vehicle miles of travel] in 2004 amounted to 2.6 trillion miles" (DeCicco and Fung). With a fuel economy of the 2004 U.S. automobile stock averaging 19.6 mpg (DeCicco and Fung), the U.S. consumed approximately 3 billion barrels of oil that year just to drive personal automobiles. If world production of oil peaks in the year 2020 as it is predicted to do (Savinar), what will happen to all our cars and drivers?

To compound the problem of the massive amount of oil burned to drive, "[t]he CO2 directly released when fuel is burned [is a factor of about] 5.3 pounds of carbon per gallon of gasoline" (DeCicco and Fung). Therefore 'in 2004, U.S. cars and light trucks traveling 2.6 trillion miles emitted 314 million metric tons of carbon' (DeCicco and Fung), or approximately 692 billion pounds of carbon into the atmosphere. 'This adds to the layer of greenhouse gases that heat the Earth' (Environmental Defense). "Excessive amounts of these gases—especially CO2—are forming too thick a heat blanket around the Earth and leading to climate change" (Environmental Defense).

"Americans now rank climate change as the country's most pressing environmental concern, […]. This is a dramatic shift from just three years ago, when climate change ranked only sixth out of 10 environmental problems" (MSNBC). If this statement is true, now might be the time to ask Americans to take steps to mitigate the problem of climate change, starting with their personal transportation. 'The single most effective measure that has brought down motorists' fuel use in Europe is taxation' (Ford). Perhaps it is time to start taxing American fuel to a greater degree.

"A penny a gallon tax was first imposed on gasoline in 1932 in order to help fund the federal budget, but in 1956, […] reform created the Highway Trust Fund into which most gasoline tax revenues go and which are used mostly for highway maintenance and construction" (Hilton). In 2006 the U.S. tax at the gasoline pump is approximately 23 percent of the price per gallon (ENVS class notes 14 Nov.). With a price of $2.17 per gallon, as it is today, the U.S. government is collecting for road maintenance and construction $0.50 for every gallon of gasoline purchased. In contrast, "[o]n average, 60 percent of the price European drivers pay at the pump goes to their governments in taxes" (Ford). With European gas prices hovering around an average of $6.00 per gallon, European governments are collecting around $3.60 in taxes for every gallon of gasoline sold. "The biggest hole in [U.S.] policy today is fuel taxation, […]" (Lee Schipper quoted in Ford). This is a hole that can be filled and in so doing, could serve to increase fuel efficiency and decrease the amount of CO2 emissions by forcing drivers to become more conscious of their driving habits.

"While people ranked climate change as a higher priority, their understanding of much of the science involved with the problem and the ways to mitigate it (including wind and solar power, increased efficiency, nuclear power, and carbon sequestration) has changed little" (MSNBC). This is an opportunity to implement higher taxes on gasoline at the pump and appropriate that revenue to environmental education and advertising as necessary to help the general public understand why it is imperative that we learn to decrease our consumption of oil, and provide suggestions and incentives about how this might be done.

To begin the process, a commercial, or a billboard, or even a newspaper campaign providing educational tips to drivers such as: "Drive less aggressively. Aggressive driving—rapid acceleration and braking—can lower gas mileage by as much as 33 percent on the highway and 5 percent in town. Aggressive drivers are using an extra 125 gallons of gas and spending over $250 more than average drivers each year" (Environmental Defense), might be enough to begin to attract attention from people on the road. Branching off to schools and reaching the millions of young people in the U.S. could start a new trend of environmentally sound practices. Perhaps some of the tax money could go to free bus passes for students, encouraging them to learn how to use and rely on public transportation instead of private vehicles. No matter what form it takes, public education is key to the mitigation of the consumption of fossil fuels for transportation.

When the public is more acutely aware of the dire situation into which we dig ourselves by driving recklessly, it might be more willing to accept a slow but steady increase on the initial rise in taxes on gasoline. These new revenues could be used to enhance public transportation infrastructure in and around cities, it could help to fund technologies that would increase alternatives to fossil fuels for energy, and it could also be used to boost incentives to buy more fuel efficient vehicles. "Belgian drivers who buy a low-emissions vehicle get a 15% price rebate; Spain cuts $865 from the cost of registering a car if it replaces a car using leaded gas more than 10 years old; Hungary waives registration tax for hybrid cars" (Ford). By redistributing a portion of gasoline tax revenues back to the public, the U.S. could give like incentives to encourage consumers to make more environmentally sound, fuel efficient decisions when purchasing a vehicle.

Even if the taxes on gasoline increased and the revenue was squandered foolishly, the higher prices at the pump would force consumers to weigh heavily the value of what they are purchasing, and more likely than not, serve as an incentive for them to monitor and increase fuel efficiency.

The consumer force in the U.S. is incredibly powerful. It is time to tax that power, educate the people, and move more safely into a greener future.