The Middle Way

Today’s editorial cartoon in the Columbus Dispatch shows two addicts sucking on the gasoline nozzle. The larger one, wearing an American flag, is telling the other, marked with a Chinese flag, “Hey pal, no one likes a petroleum hog, OK?”

Tired as we all are of hearing that we Americans consume 25 percent of the world’s oil, we and our leadership have skillfully ignored the issue for over thirty years. We are told that there are undiscovered petroleum reserves under the earth, and I have no reason to question that; however, we must keep in mind that it takes millions of years for plants to decay into petroleum. Therefore, we have to conclude that the supply is limited, even if we do not yet know what that limit is. When we run out of oil, be it in forty years, or four hundred years, we will be out, and there will be no way to get more.

The problem with oil is:
• We consume twice as much oil as we did thirty years ago. European and Japanese demand has been steady, while China and India have been rapidly increasing their demand to accommodate their growing economies.
• We are still buying and driving sport-utility vehicles (SUVs), which are by far the least fuel-efficient personal vehicles (other than motor homes) on the planet.
• Neither American companies, nor major oil producers elsewhere are actively exploring for new sources; and if they started today to invest in exploration, we would not see the fruits for another ten years.
• Likewise, American oil companies have not invested in gasoline refineries in recent years. Why? It’s more profitable to exploit the shortages. In fairness, the oil business is not the most profitable. The large numbers thrown around for profits ($35 billion first quarter for Exxon) still represent only three percent of sales.
• America’s gasoline is cheaper than anyone else’s outside the Middle East. Sure, the Iranians can get it for 40 cents per gallon and the Saudis for 65 cents; but for everyone else, it is more like $5-$7 per gallon.
• Crude oil prices currently are around $70 per barrel, and for the reasons described above, are expected to exceed $100 per barrel in the next few years. This will translate into $4 per gallon gasoline.
• Worst of all, our purchases of Saudi oil and European purchases of Iranian oil are indirectly financing the Iraqi and Afghan resistance and various terrorist organizations around the world. The shocking truth is, we Americans are paying the costs of both sides in the war on terror!

Of course, oil producers need to continue exploration and drilling for new sources. A problem more than thirty years in the making will not be resolved overnight, and is not likely to be resolved in the next thirty years. And unfortunately at present, when planting and fertilizing cornfields is considered, ethanol consumes more energy than it generates. A further problem with ethanol is that it has an affinity for water, meaning that it must be transported by truck or rail, not by pipeline, consuming even more energy.

We are facing a moral imperative to conserve! I’m not suggesting lowering the speed limits, We learned in the 70s that lowering the speed limits was a potentially effective conservation measure that defies human nature. The only way to conserve, unfortunately, is to make gasoline so expensive that:
• People will drive more efficiently, making fewer small trips, and weighing whether trips are really necessary.
• Automakers and individuals have an incentive to build more fuel-efficient vehicles. In theory, it should be possible to build a compact car that gets 100 miles to a gallon.
• Government and private enterprise will conduct the research necessary to develop and set up distribution networks for alternative fuel sources.
• Government and private enterprise will expand the reach of public transportation.

Ohio is a compact state, being relatively small and its boundaries nearly fitting into a square. We should be a leader in this. (Messrs. Blackwell and Strickland, are you listening?) We should have rapid passenger rail service between each of our largest cities at least over 75,000 population; and bus service connecting smaller cities and every county seat, regardless of size. A resident of rural Vinton County should be able to go to any other county seat or larger city in Ohio by boarding a bus (or train?) in McArthur. Cities should develop light rail, where feasible, and bus service should be established between suburbs that have large employers. Suburbs should be able to connect to light rail stations and the ends of city bus routes with feeder bus service. The usual objection to public transportation is that the public will not support it. I wonder why, when we can hop into our cars and go anywhere for only 15 cents a mile? *

Raising the gasoline tax may be the only way to change our behavior. This is a legitimate governmental function, because the future of our economy, and even our national security, is at stake. If we could greatly reduce or even eliminate our need for Middle Eastern oil, we would no longer have vital interests there, and could withdraw once the Iraqi and Afghan governments are on a firm foundation. Then terrorists would have no reason to attack us that they could sell to their populations (Israel is another question, which is outside the scope of this article). The lower oil prices would benefit nations needing petroleum to develop their economies, and force Middle Eastern governments ** to come to terms with their own people, something they can avoid with oil wealth.

I favor a gasoline tax increase of 25 cents per gallon each quarter until the gasoline price reaches $5 per gallon. The difference stays at home, not in the Middle East, and should be used primarily to develop completely new and renewable fuel sources for automobiles; and secondarily to develop and build a better public transportation infrastructure for our country.

In so doing, we will prove ourselves to be more worthy stewards of the gifts God has given us.


* Based on $3.00 per gallon for gasoline and 20 miles per gallon, but excluding depreciation and maintenance costs. Your results may differ …
** And that of Russia, which is a major oil exporter to Europe and Central Asia.