Finding the True Cost of Gas

The cost of a gallon of gasoline fluctuates wildly throughout the year.  Just 12 years ago when I began driving, gas hovered around $1 a gallon.  Now we pay between 3 and 4 dollars for each gallon we buy.  But as we all know, fossil fuel consumption has many consequences on the environment.  Because of this, the Center for Investigative Reporting attempted to calculate the true cost of a gallon of gasoline.

Americans have lower gas pump prices than most other countries.  However, we actually pay a lot more for the gasoline in various other ways than just at the station.  As the following video details, the pollution affects climate systems, human health, crop yields, and many other aspects of life.  More people suffer from asthma and related illnesses.  Our climate seems to be going off the rails.  And all of this appears to be caused by the liquid we put into our cars.

Other countries pay more at the pump because gas taxes help to treat some of the problems caused by our consumption.  The money goes to helping fund alternative energies and public health concerns.  But in the United States, we can't even introduce a realistic and reasonable carbon tax to ease the pain of pollution.  Please watch the video and discover how much we really pay per gallon of gasoline.



I support several ideas to help the problem of gasoline:

1. Carbon Tax/Cap-and-Trade Proposals - Charge the polluters for their environmental damage.
2. Increasing CAFE standards - require new cars have better miles per gallon
3. Green Tax Credits - Investment in Green Energy and Efficiency
4. Solar Paneling - Install solar panels on the roofs of schools and government buildings

I am sure that there are more ways we can help our planet and make a switch from fossil fuels.