samie has some good points though. i don’t know what the solution is, but for now, unfortunately, it’s on us to get those around us to make better decisions, and keep pressing for better choices from the companies!

I ask why not let the oil industry self-regulate themselves and the government act only as a policing agency? We could open up all offshore drilling 50 miles or more. BUT unlike now, the industry would not be able to pass on safety or environmental costs onto government, ie taxpayers. You could also reduce the wasted money spent on incompetent regulators and influence from special interests. This means reduced government compliance costs but at the same time unlimited liability for the industry. If someone like BP fails to fully add safety costs into their final products, they could face the real threat of becoming insolvent and the industry as a whole could be liable for one of its group member’s poor decisions. Direct costs, hidden costs, and long-term costs would be factored into the price of domestic petroleum instead of passing it onto the federal government. Government would also stop subsidizing the petroleum industry ie. tax breaks and charge them diplomacy and military protection fees. Unfortunately, if we continue to find ways to keep hidden costs hidden, for the sake of laziness and fake political ideologies, our adoption to say long-term hydrogen, or near-term electric vehicles will be slow, including technological advances. Poor regulations, politicking, and short-term schemes (with locked distribution) will continue reduce the effectiveness of a higher gasoline tax or newer CAFE standards.

Increasing fuel economy requirements, while fuel is cheap, pits customers’ wants (a low-priced car) against government goals. The only way to (somewhat) even things out then is government incentives (which we can’t afford) for the more expensive vehicles.

CAFE promised to reduce fuel consumption, which it has not. It has not reduced our oil imports; people simply moved from cars to trucks (creating the SUV market).

While fuel is cheap, increasing CAFE requirements will only reduce the purchase of new, fuel-efficient cars, and the number of miles driven (by both old and new cars) will remain high.

Let’s be done with it, raise the fuel tax, divide the revenue evenly, and return the it on income tax returns. That will promote the new technologies, and reduce government spending.