"Constitution of Independence as written by Jefferson Davis"
ROFL

to not only whip the waves until they stop, but to start whipping the oil wells too!

Pangolin: Hey, I got a great idea. We set up a sand bourse down at the beach and collect trading tax credits from the government.
oooooo....any offset action i could get in on before it becomes an additionality?

Gristmill is going a bit lightly here.

High oil prices are indeed dramatic for the poor, of which there are plenty in the United States.

-High oil prices have pushed up food prices to levels that make it hard for many to cope

-Heating your home is important, and energy poverty in the U.S. is at very high levels

-Being able to go to work to do your job is important and high gas prices impact the poorest most, once again.

So yes, these catastrophically high oil prices are having dramatic effects on America's poor. (In the developing world they're leading to true war zones, with fuel and food riots, and with an economic melt down that boosts poverty to obscene levels.)

But then, Gristmill is not the most socially minded blog. That much is obvious.

Gasoline/petrol prices getting an $.085 decrease for a few months would decrease heating (natural gas) costs?

I won't disagree that high oil prices hurt the poor, but a gas tax elimination (temporary or permanent) would do nothing to help that. The gas tax is simply to little of the cost of fuel to matter whatsoever. In one month the price has repeatedly risen more than $.10 so eliminating one of the major sources of payment for essential infrastructure for less than one month's delay doesn't make sense. Why not advocate increasing taxes on the top 5% of the population and giving checks to the bottom %20 of you're concerned? Still temporary, still expensive and still poorly thought out but it has a small chance of doing something.

This is a great article. Grevangelical, great reply to Jonas's concerns. Jonas, I think it's a bit haughty to denounce Grist for not being "socially minded," without suggesting any alternative ideas. Repealing the gas tax (which I guess is what you're suggesting by posting here) is not going to have a major effect (a maximum of 4%, probably offset by the increased demand driving prices higher) on prices at the pump or food...

Welcome.  

Lower gas prices?  Electricity is 66 cents per gallon equivalent.  Plugin hybrids would lower gas prices.

But tinkerers and do it yourselfers can't even buy Nimh batteries, much less ultra-expensive lithium.

Chevron is sitting on the Nimh patents.  This kind of monopoly game ought to be busted by a trust busting administration.  Will Barack but 'em like Teddy did?  Look out oily corporate climate killers.  There's a new sherrif in town.

At least lithium ion is affordable for plugin bikes, as bio-d and others have demonstrated.

http://amazngdrx.blogharbor.com/blog

"Gristmill is not the most socially minded blog."

From each according to his gas (fuel farmed, GHG doubling ethanol), to each according to his guzzling?  That's commie crap Jonas!  Hehey.

http://amazngdrx.blogharbor.com/blog

Jonah calling others out for anti-social behavior ROFL!!! We're just a bunch of "anglo-saxon racists" to him anyway. Jonah, have you ever heard of "reverse racism?" Personally, I see far more of that today. Get a clue buddy, or you'll never cease being a walking contradiction!

Lowering gas taxes will just be used as another incentive for energy companies to raise gas prices.  fact is if the cost of gas were to fall for any reason, OPEC and the rest would reduce the oil supply to compensate and keep the cost of fuel up.

I am personally happy every time I see the cost of gas go up, the sooner we start thinking beyond an oil based economy the sooner we will begin to deal with reality and become a stronger, safer, cleaner and wealthier nation.

There is no doubt that those who are hurt the most are those who have been met with the growing cost of food that is invariably related to the growing cost of fuel.  Increased production of Biofool and  the increased cost of transporting food will result in a long term golden age for the worlds rural poor and will slow down there immigration to the worlds vast slums.

God bless expensive gas

Doc, do you have links to document this? Not doubting, just curious. I had not heard this.

Sadly, there's obviously no better (no other?) way to persuade the american public to conserve and change their habits than to hit them in their pocketbooks.  The connection between higher fuel costs and the subsequent public demand for fuel-efficient vehicles is clear...currently small car and hybrid sales in the u.s. are way up, and SUV sales have dropped considerably....and Europe, where vehicles achieve on average 40+ mpg, is of course another good example.

Regardless of the reasons behind the increase in fuel prices, the result is increased demand for efficiency (and alternative energies and public transportation)...and as long as fuel prices remain low, wastefulness will prevail.  Americans apparently won't make the "right" vehicle buying and driving decisions on their own (not to mention land use planning, etc)...and unfortunately the simplest way to change their mentality seems to be by affecting their bank accounts.  And the sooner they change their habits, the greater the possibility for all of us to weather the coming storm.

I simply feel compelled to reiterate the importance of beginning the process of telling people the truth.

We do need to create transition steps to a sustainable future where people are less reliant on automobiles, where the cars that do remain are in something like neighborhood car-share programs and burn clean fuels or no fuel, and where less of our fragile environment is buried under roads and parking lots.

But we must start getting people used to the idea that saving money at the gas pump moves us in the opposite direction of a sustainable future. Gas prices should be at least double of what they are now by removing fossil fool industry subsidies, and probably triple if we include social and environmental costs.

Since most of the proposals to mitigate global warming and decreasing energy supplies start with the assumption that the market economy must be protected above all else, and that only the market should determine price, let's call their bluff and take them at their word. Remove all subsidies and start fairly charging for resource extraction and cleanup costs.

But one way or the other, people must start getting used to the idea that pump prices are going nowhere but up. Fossil fuels are a finite resource whose overuse, misuse, and abuse is a major contributor in the overall project of killing the planet's ability to support life.

Peace _on_ Earth requires peace _with_ Earth.