"HA-HAAaaaaaah!!"
Posted on 05/01/2005 6:19:00 AM PDT by MississippiMasterpiece
President Bush made it clear last week that he sees no quick fixes to the nation's energy woes. The problem has been long in coming, the argument goes, and so will the solutions. But if history is any guide, there is one thing he could do immediately: bring back the 55 miles-per-hour speed limit.
It has been done before. Along with record oil and gasoline prices, improvements in fuel efficiency and a lasting economic recession, speed limits helped curb fuel consumption for the first time in American postwar history between 1974 and 1984.
Of course, energy eventually became cheap again, the economy expanded and Americans became complacent and unwilling to make more sacrifices.
Instead of opting for small fuel-efficient cars, people switched to large sport utility vehicles and larger pickups. As drivers groaned and states fought for their right to speed, the limit was raised.
While oil consumption in most industrialized nations has either leveled off or declined, in the United States, oil demand has soared 38 percent since the first oil shock of 1973.
The Bush administration's focus over the last four years has been to increase the supply of oil and natural gas, which are also priorities for the energy industry, instead of finding ways to cut back on energy demand, which until very recently has been left out of the picture.
"We are in a boxing match, and the president keeps one hand tied to his back," said Steven Nadel, the executive director for the American Council for an Energy-Efficient Economy, a nonprofit research group in Washington. "We're punching with supplies and not using demand. We're at a disadvantage."
Other industrialized countries, especially in Europe, have been much more successful than the United States and have managed to actually lower oil demand, or at least keep it in check. That comes from higher diesel use and higher taxes. In France and Germany, a gallon of gasoline sells for as much as $6, with taxes accounting for about 80 percent of that.
Few politicians in America might risk ridicule or rejection by explicitly supporting higher taxes on gasoline, one of the surest ways to limit the nation's dependence on oil.
"Even the least outrageous gasoline tax would have choked off some demand, and the money would have gone to our own government instead of being transferred overseas," said Robert K. Kaufmann, a professor of geography at the Center for Energy and Environmental Studies at Boston University. "Of course, that would have to involve personal sacrifice, which is off the table politically."
There are other ways to curb consumption that may be only slightly less challenging, analysts say. One would be to increase the average mileage per gallon requirement. After Congress passed legislation forcing automakers to act in 1975, average mileage almost doubled to 27.5 miles a gallon in 1987 from 14 in 1972. But it has since slipped back to 24 because of S.U.V.'s, and Congress shows no inclination to toughen the standards.
Another way to sharply reduce demand - and improve mileage - would be to encourage drivers to buy diesel cars, which offer as much as 60 percent more fuel efficiency, said Theodore R. Eck, an energy consultant and former chief economist at the Amoco oil company.
"The neat thing here is that this is off-the-shelf technology," he said. But the trade-off to diesel fuels also includes higher emissions of nitrate oxide, a pollutant that is responsible for smog.
In a recent speech, President Bush suggested that diesel cars might be made eligible for similar income tax credits as hybrid cars, which are quickly turning into best sellers with long waiting lists.
The present predicament behind high oil prices is quite different than the oil shocks of the 1970's and 1980's, which were a result of producers in the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries cutting oil supplies. Today, the price shock comes from rapidly increasing demand, driven largely by China, but also by the United States and its strong car culture.
After rising 33 percent in the last year, crude oil prices in New York slipped below $50 a barrel on Friday for the first time in 10 weeks. They closed down nearly 4 percent at $49.72 a barrel.
Still, Americans can expect to pay record prices for gasoline this summer. According to the latest national average compiled by the Energy Department, gasoline prices at the pump averaged $2.24 a gallon, up 42 cents from last year; they are expected to touch a record $2.35 a gallon this summer.
Polls show that higher gasoline prices are increasingly hurting Americans, and the president is pressing Congress to revive an energy bill that has been stalled for four years.
Since the last energy shock of the 1980's, the economy as a whole has shifted toward services and away from heavy industry and is now less dependent on oil than it once was. But that has been more than offset by the rise of oil demand for the transportation sector, which accounts for two of every three barrels of crude oil consumed here; gasoline alone amounts to half the nation's oil consumption.
"We've had this situation building up for years, and yet the focus continues to be on the very long term," said Shirley Neff, an adjunct professor at Columbia University and a former economist on the Senate Energy Committee. "We have to focus on demand and be more efficient in our energy use. We need something like an Apollo program for the transportation sector."
But restricting demand might also weaken economic growth, an unpalatable prospect for any government, especially at a time when some are already blaming energy costs for a slowdown in growth.
"It's true that there is a limit to what you could achieve through a traditional energy policy in one or two years," said Fridtjof Unander, an analyst with the International Energy Agency, which advises industrialized nations on ways to reduce their consumption.
The 55 miles-per-hour speed limit came as a result of the 1973 Arab oil embargo. The Nixon administration ordered states to lower their maximum limit to save fuel at a time when the first oil shock threatened to bring the economy to a standstill.
After steadily rising each year, gasoline demand suddenly stopped growing in 1974 and remained nearly flat for the next decade, keeping oil consumption in check.
Roland Hwang, the vehicles policy director at the Natural Resources Defense Council in San Francisco, estimated the savings of the speed limit in 1983 at 2.5 billion gallons of gasoline and diesel fuel, or 2.2 percent of the total use for these types of fuels.
But as gas lines faded from people's memories and energy prices went down, the federal speed limit was relaxed in 1987, allowing states to set higher caps of 65 miles an hour. Once more, gasoline consumption surged.
Smaller efforts today could make a difference. For example, driving at 10 miles an hour above the 65 miles-per-hour limit increases fuel consumption by 15 percent; inflating tires properly cuts gasoline use by 2 percent; keeping engines idle while in line wastes millions of gallons.
The trouble is that few drivers bother with these suggestions, Mr. Hwang said. "People are basically too lazy to pump their tires up."
They mention the "SUV's" but never mention the Wrangler. In fact it is an acceptable vehicle to them because it is relatively small. However my friends with Suburbans get better mileage.
My cop friends discussed this with me when they temporarely lowered the speed limit in Houston to 55. They said the speed limit is the fastest safe speed for the road. How can they give you a ticket for going 70 when that is a safe speed for the road?
Of course my cop friends aren't JBT's or they wouldn't be my friends.
Fuel prices for the most part are "bean-counter" driven not real market driven. Computers are proof of this. in the early '90s I couldn't afford one. Now I have five. Discretionary income up? Oh, hell no! Prices down and availability up? Yes!
Gasoline should have followed this course too. Oh wait, the guv hasn't been able to "help" us with computer prices like they have with gas prices.
Try driving 55 (where it is posted) around here and you'll get run over or deafened by honking horns!
Or, he could actually let the market find a solution! OTOH, I doubt if a market solution is palatable to either Democrats or Republicans.
Maybe we need to increase the speed limit. Doesn't less driving time cut down on gas usage? Several years ago I heard a joke about a couple of women that were stopped for speeding. They were driving fast so they could get to the station before they ran out of gas. :)
Either that, or standardize on the design that the nuke navy uses. I agree that it is vitally important that there be a standard, and that it be a good and proven standard
Clean it up please!
; < )
"HA-HAAaaaaaah!!"
My car has an overdrive, could you tell me what it's for.
I know one is for city driving and one is for highway but I don't know which is which.
"bring back the 55 miles-per-hour speed limit. "
It doesn't save a nickle. Today's cars are designed for fuel effeciency at greater than 55MPH and so were yesterday's cars. Liberals are just cowards who are scared to drive any faster.
driving 55 in a car DESIGNED to cruise at 75 never saved a drop of gas...
Do you realize that today's 'gas hog' SUVs get better milage than most of the small cars of the 1970s. We're more efficient in using fuel which only encourages more use through larger vehicles and more miles driven.
As to France or the rest of "Old Europe", look at population and number of people driving now vs in the 1970s. Their populations have not grown much nor has their vehicle use. Our population has increased by nearly a 1/3 in the last 30 years and the number of miles driven have risen in proportion to that growth.
Your engine turns lower RPMs in overdrive. The lower RPM saves gas.
I hope Hillary picks up this idea!
Yes, and in France and Germany people spend their discretionary income buying gasoline, when they could be spending it on education, internet connections, books, entertainment, or whatever else it takes for an individual to live his life as an individual, the way he wants to live it, and not the way some corrupt socialist government wants him to live it.
Why not 45 or even 25 mph. If it works, why not lower it to 5 mph? It'll save gas and lives. Except for those folks I have to shoot to get them out of my way.
You are right. For me, gas is a hell of a lot cheeper now than it was back then. A quick calculation shows that I am making 7 times more than I did in the late 70s and gas is only about twice what I paid then in constant dollars. And I don't have any of those Jimmy Carter "odd-even" days to keep track off either.
Bring back Jimmy Carter as Energy Czar! He knew how to solve this conundrum! Happy days are here again! Oh joy!
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