McCain's "Remove GasTaxes" Leadership or Folie

• Wed, 23^rd April 2008, 10:16
• Permalink

With oil set to break through the $120 mark and pump prices forecast to hit $4 bucks or more a gallon, Presidential candidate John McCain has called for all levels of government to remove their tax on gas. While this may bring a hoot from a couple of die hard Rush Limbaugh fans, the reality is that any relief would be short lived. While increased pump price do inflate tax coffers, revenue for government expenditures needs to be maintained with other areas of the economy teetering on disaster.

Most of us have a sense, that any tax relief would quickly be absorbed by the oil companies willing to swell their bludgeoning profit margins anyway. Other issues that John McCain should consider, are that while government takes a healthy share of the pump price, foreign governments in control of the oil, are taking approximately half of this pump price. While outside the scope of this article, many of these “friendly” governments utilize these windfalls to finance terrorism and suicide attacks. With such windfall profits, the need and cost of bolstering our militaries, may become even more blatantly apparent with time.

The Underlying Issue

While short term solutions may be debated, the underlying issue which has been facing western civilization for decades is the need to use less oil. In a growing global economy, even with more evolved extraction techniques, there simply will not be enough oil to meet the demands. Also, as we begin to struggle with the increased cost associated with the environmental impact of our lifestyles, there should be a realistic expectations of additional price increases.

Solutions

As a society, we need to shift our focus to changes we can adopt. Many of the pie in the sky solutions proposed after the 70's oil crisis, are no longer visions for the future. While a gas powered BMW automobile today has more on board computers than the first moon shot, computers and technological advances have allowed an American company, Tesla Motors to develop and produce electric vehicles that have 0 to 60 mph acceleration of 3.9 seconds, combined with an EPA rating of 135 MPG. Other advances such as utilizing lightweight carbon fiber instead of steel and plastic would revolutionize the automobile.

Technologies collectively known as concentrating photovoltaics are starting to enjoy their day in the sun, thanks to advances in solar cells, which absorb light and convert it into electricity, and the mirror- or lens-based concentrator systems that focus light on them. The technology could soon make solar power as cheap as electricity from the grid. Similar advances are being made in wind power, and utilizing hydrogen fuel cells.

An estimated 1.35 billion gallons of gasoline could be conserved annually if every U.S. worker with the ability to telecommute did so 1.6 days per week, according to a report released by the American Electronics Association,  "Fewer commuters on the roads means reduced fuel consumption, traffic congestion and air pollution," said Christopher Hansen, president of the association, the nation's largest high-tech trade group.

Embracing these solutions will revolutionize and revitalize our economy. 

Lots of oil 

Others would suggest that we should continue to develop underutilized sources of  domestic oil such as the Florida Gulf Coast, Alaska, or the Alberta Tar Sands. Alberta does have tremendous amounts of oil available. But at what cost. The deep mining and extraction of crude oil from the tar sands in Alberta has already generated a series of ecological threats:

• greenhouse gas emissions from tar sands production are three times those of conventional oil and gas production [currently tar sands production emits 27 megatonnes annum and is expected to rise to 108-
126 megatonnes per annum by 2015]. Thus, the tar sands are now poised to become Canada’s largest single emitter of greenhouse gas, compounding this country’s contribution to global warming;

•water depletion and pollution: where an average of 2 to 4.5 [and as high as 7] barrels of water are used to produce one barrel of oil, thereby seriously lowering the water levels of the Athabasca River, the Mackenzie Valley watershed and other related water sources in the region. And, toxic water spewing from tar sands production has infected fish and wildlife.

• boreal forest destruction through the stripping away of the Athabasca forest lands through oil mining operations, thereby digging a huge hole in the northern lungs of the planet that could, if completed, it would encompass a land mass the size of the state of Florida. Yet, the boreal forests have a key role to play in the sequestration of carbon dioxide emissions from greenhouse gases;

• tailings ponds, vast holding tanks the size of lakes, some as large as 15 square kilometers, containing hydrocarbons and other chemical by products from tar sands production.

But is John McCain  proposing relief that we can feel today. The pain at the pump will only escalate with continue dependence on oil from any source. Twenty five percent of all the oil produced has been consumed in the last ten years. As we sip from our water bottles, we need to consider that the bottle came from oil, and the water may have been used in the tar sands project. We can not eliminate oil from our diet overnight, nor can we depend on profit driven companies to lead the way. We the consumers need to lead. Until we do, we should expect to pay an ever increasing costs for our addiction.