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[GaryVoshol]

Originally Posted by Richard

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The difference is due to Europeans' willingness to pay higher gas taxes than Canadians and Americans will stand for. Green policies are apparently worth more to Europeans. Maybe we should take a lesson from them on our side of the ocean.

I don't think it's so much a willingness to pay to be green as it is a reflection of the historical tax structure. Oil was a domestic commodity in the US and Canada, and thus not highly taxed lest we harm our own. Until the North Sea deposits were tapped, Europe was pretty much an oil importer. And where did governments mostly get taxes through the early 1900's? Tariffs. You taxed things you imported. Gas/oil was a natural commodity to tax for Europeans, just like tires (rubber) had an excise tax in the US. Since the European countries were already getting a good amount of taxes from fuel sales, they kept it going.

It would be a bitter pill for the US to swallow, but the only practical way we are going to reduce energy consumption is to tax it higher. If the initiatives for CAFE and alternative fuels work (and that's a BIG IF), the market for petroleum will tank and the price will drop dramatically. So now people would have fuel efficient cars capable of driving on several fuels - why not pick gasoline at a cheap price? And drive a lot, because it's cheap? We'd be right back where we started, except one more level of technology would have already been used up.

Don't believe it? Well, it's exactly where we are today. The auto manufacturers doubled their mpg, so gas prices stayed cheap until 9/11 and Katrina, and people continued to buy, buy, buy. People drove farther than ever. So now politicians are calling for another dramatic increase in CAFE. Gotta work on the demand side, folks.