This Greentech article has a long analysis of how cap-and-trade is likely to affect gas prices in California. The author comes up with ten cents a gallon, then explains why he thinks the higher estimates offered by the oil industry are just scare tactics. To put the ten cents in perspective, he offers the following options to offset the cost:
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Drive 70 mph instead of 72 mph on the freeway. That difference would improve your fuel economy by about 2.5 percent. The savings are much larger if you actually drive the speed limit.
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Buy a car that gets 31 mpg instead of 30 mpg. That will get you more than a 3 percent savings in fuel cost, more than offsetting the price increase.
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Keep your tires properly inflated. The Department of Energy estimates that underinflated tires waste about 0.3 percent of gasoline for every 1 psi drop in pressure.
This is all good, common sense advice. But I would offer one more: live where you can (safely) walk or bicycle to work, shopping, recreation, and medical care. But, you say, I don’t live in a place like that. Well, you control where you live. Decide that in 5 years you want to live in a place like that, then make it happen. If enough people do that, there will be more places like that. Or if you are a truly tough-minded person, decide that in 10 or 20 years you want the place you live now to be like that, find other people who agree with you, and get out there and make it happen. You will not only reduce greenhouse gas emissions and put money back in your pocket. You and your loved ones will be at much less risk of serious injury caused by a car. You won’t drive drunk, or get run over by someone else driving drunk. Increased physical activity and decreased air pollution will add years to your life. And most important, at least to me, commuting will no longer be an enormous waste of so many precious hours of your life, but quite possibly the best part of your day.