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* USA - Can Washington ease the pain at the pumps?
Another spring, another jump in gasoline prices, and another round of ineptitude from Washington
LaPorte,IN,USA -McClatchy Newspapers, by Ben Lieberman -7 May 2007: -- There’s never a good time of year to see gas over $2.80 per gallon, but it’s particularly worrisome to reach this level now. That’s because pump prices tend to go up from here as we head into the high-demand summer vacation season... Of course, consumers have ridden this seasonal rollercoaster before -- gas rose above $3 for parts of the last two summers, and in both instances the public demanded action from Washington... Worse, Congress wants to impose new environmental regulations, especially in the name of fighting global warming. Putting aside questions about the seriousness of global warming, doing anything about it will substantially affect cars and trucks... Transportation accounts for fully one-third of America’s emissions of carbon dioxide, and taking steps to reduce these emissions will require raising the price at the pump in order to discourage driving. How much? Consider that some of Congress’ global-warming proposals resemble measures already in place in Western Europe, where gas prices currently range from $6 to $7 per gallon... And even these prices have not reduced emissions in Europe. If $6 to $7 isn’t enough to discourage driving there, then what will it take here?... Strange is it may seem, despite public anger over high gasoline prices, Washington has all but given up on trying to do anything useful about it...
* USA - Idling vehicles cost money - Record prices spur towns to examine fuel policies
Chicago,Ill,USA -The Daily Herald, by Jake Griffin -May 08, 2007: -- As the nation’s average gasoline prices hit an all-time high Monday, area towns are looking for ways to conserve fuel as both a cost-saving measure and environmental strategy... And city officials are getting some help from taxpayers along the way... Most public safety agencies have policies in place to combat unnecessary idling to both conserve gasoline and reduce emissions... The state has passed some laws, but officials from the American Lung Association believe there are gaps that could be closed... “Our first step is to increase enforcement of the current laws because we have yet to find that enforcement is very prevalent,” said Anna Frostic, an environmental health advocate for the American Lung Association in Chicago. “With gas prices so high, it helps us get our message”...
Labels: taxes policy
posted by Unknown @ 11:28 AM
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