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4/15/2008
Adam Delikowski: Look to Europe for Fuel Efficiency
Wisconsin Secretary of Transportation, Frank Busalacchi, has been in Washington lobbying lawmakers to more than double the federal gas tax. (His proposal gradually increases the tax from 18 cents/gallon to 40 cents.) Sure, that sounds bad, but let’s put it into perspective.
Europeans, as many Americans already know, pay more for gas than the US. You think $3.50 is bad? Try $8.00…
And the vast majority of that $8 is national gas taxes. According to a 2005 Christian Science Monitor article, Britons were paying $6.06 for a single gallon of gas. Without UK gas taxes, the cost would have been only $1.97!
Here is the kicker: Strong evidence indicates that high taxes reduce traffic. For example, if gas prices increase 10%, consumers reduce their consumption by about 7%. So… what should our priority be—reducing gas usage through regulations or increasing fuel efficiency through automotive technology?
First, reducing usage: The United States uses nearly 400 million gallons per day—which is a hair over 1 gallon per person per day. Europeans use a bit over half that number. The answer as to why is unfortunately simple—their cars are more efficient and they drive more efficiently.
European populations are highly centralized. Very few people live outside of the major cities, such as Amsterdam, London, Paris, etc. Those that live in cities heavily use public transportation or human powered means. Those that do drive, drive tiny, fuel-efficient vehicles, such as the Ford Focus and the Peugeot 207. In fact, a staggering 40% of vehicles in Europe are diesel! Diesel is not only cheaper than gas in most European countries, but the vehicles are far more efficient, more powerful, and, believe it or not, more environmentally friendly than the latest generation gas engines. Fun fact: Folks actually race diesel cars…and they’re crushing the competition at Le Mans.
This leads me to my second point, more efficient vehicles. Driven by environmental and economic concerns, European vehicle technology is light years ahead of the comparable US-made vehicle. On average, European vehicles are over 10 mpg more efficient than US vehicles. I could go on for days about new BluTec diesels, diesel-gas hybrids, diesel-electric hybrids, and the like. The short of it is that Europe is simply better at the efficiency game than we are.
There is a caveat to all of this. European car makers can get away with making tiny, ultra-efficient vehicles because Europeans live and work in small spaces – and close together. Americans live so far from their place of business, that tiny vehicles are not only impractical, they’re unsafe. The Smart ForTwo, while fantastic for urban driving, is too small and too slow to be driven comfortably on, for example, Hwy 41.
But why you ask—why has Europe centralized its populations and increased fuel efficiencies? Part of it is necessity—a lack of physical space—and part is legislative—gas taxes. It is, at face value, unfortunately obvious that exorbitant gas taxes do decrease consumption. That is, as taxes increase, it muscles out those that simply can’t afford it and increases cognizance of those that can.
Europe has made compact cities and narrow streets a salient discussion, partly as a matter of necessity and partly as a matter of conservation.
The end-all-be-all of this discussion? Look to Europe… Americans will, at some point, be forced to change our mindsets about cars and living. We will become more comfortable and more accepting of smaller, less powerful vehicles, much higher housing densities that are closer to work and shopping, and (dare I say) public transportation, including a resurgence in passenger rail.
Evolution is a part of life—nations are no exception. Sustainability and green living are the way of the future, whether we like it or not. Perhaps its time consider mirroring Europe and start making some incremental changes.
Adam Delikowski is the Director of Government Affairs for the Valley Home Builders Association, Appleton.
COMMENTS
Adam, Well written and in my opinion, correct. You also recognize the fact that we have different driving needs particularly in rural areas. The majority of our taxes on gasoline are for the federal and state highway transportation funds which provide for the repair of and construction of roads, thereby encouraging more fuel consumption but perhaps more efficiently. Yes, we can influence personal and corporate behavior through tax policy and Europe has shown one example of how the society in general benefits.
dave allen (Tue Apr 15 07:17:08 2008)
Adam:
Great article but I don't think the American public is ready yet for the sacrafice that the Europeans have gone thru. A simple and easy way to reduce gas consumption and improve gas mileage is to slow down to 60mph or at least the speed limit. It has been said that slowing down from 75-80mph would save 10% in gas consumption. I have tried it and it works.
However, I have been on Highway 41 and it looks like most people are not trying this simple method and get to their destination a few minutes later and safer. Maybe as gas prices climb we will begin to see some of these habits change. A good barometer would be the speed on Highway 41. Let's see!
Mike Thomas (Tue Apr 15 08:58:30 2008)
I think this is all wrong. You give the government more tax dollars and they will find a way to waste them.
Why not a system of rationing, where gas wasters pay more after a certain amount of usage? Maybe then people wouldn't buy gas guzzlers, or insist on living 50 miles from their work, and hitting the countryside every weekend.
I know you'll think this would be cumbersome to administer, but can't we figure ANYTHING out in this country that might save resources?!
Okay, so everybody tell me why it won't work? You know you want to!
Mike P. (Tue Apr 15 10:57:23 2008)
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