Gas Tax
With gas prices soon at $4 gallon, oil at $120 barrel, and a world oil supply soon depleted, I had hoped Senators Clinton and McCain would have suggested a real energy policy – instead they settle on a gimmick. For by agreeing on the suspension of the federal gas tax during the summers high peak driving season, both candidates show how little they care about our energy problem. It also points out how desperate Hillary Clinton is to win Indiana and North Carolina. Come on! The European Union, taking climate change, the increasing dependence on fossil fuel and rising energy prices into account, has already put a comprehensive energy policy into place. Here we look to save consumers $30 this summer, or $70 if you believe Mrs. Clinton’s figures!
Why don’t we follow EU’s lead? The Europeans has put an energy policy into place by combining action both at the EU and members states level. The target is a 20 % share of renewable energy sources in energy consumption, and a 10% binding minimum target for biofuels in transport by 2020. The EU policy is in other words, concerned with three sectors: electricity, heating/cooling and transport. And as the transport sector has the most rapid increase in greenhouse gas emission of the economy, switching to biofuels will make it possible for the EU member states to deal with both the environment and the oil dependence at the same time.
The policy has had effect. In 2005 39.8% of Sweden’s energy, in final consumption, came from renewable sources. Finland produced 28.5%, Austria 23.3%, Latvia 34.9%, Portugal 20.5 %, and France 10.3%. Belgium with 2.2% and The United Kingdom with 1.3% have the lowest share in the EU. Sweden has also launched a new fuel, E85, with a mixture of up to 87% ethanol. A study presented by Stockholm University, Sweden (Westerholm et.al.), in March 2008, found that less PAH emissions (Polycyclic Aromatic Hydrocarbons) was emitted when using E85 fuel compared to petrol. Particle emissions were also lower when using E85 fuel compared to petrol.
The interesting thing is that it already exists about 6 million fuel-flexible vehicles in the US. The problem is that most of them have to run on gasoline as the number of gas stations, carrying E85, is around 1,200. That is the same amount of gas stations carrying E85 Sweden has (population 9 million). And I think a law, like the one implemented in Sweden 2005, requiring distributors of gasoline and diesel to also have biofuel available at gas stations, is a lot better than the Clinton & McCain suggestion to do away will federal taxes during the summer. That suggestion is only about buying votes, not about solving our energy dependence.
