How’s Your Gas Mileage
By Hawaii State Senator Will Espero
A couple of years ago, TIME magazine noted that high gas prices would succeed where all other efforts failed in persuading Americans to conserve gas when driving. TIME was right. In the last several weeks, the morning commute to town has shortened dramatically, even without school breaks, as residents adopted other ways to save at the pump. Carpool, Vanpool, TheBoat, TheBus, bicycle, motorcycles and motor scooters, and moving closer to your job – these are all ways that people have switched to in the effort to survive the climbing prices of gas.
Of course, if the rail was already here, we’d also have that option.
High gas prices are only great if you’re an oil executive. In the last few years oil companies have repeatedly broken their own profit records. Last year, Exxon boasted an annual profit of just under $42 billion, the highest profit of all U.S. companies. The next four oil companies followed nearby, with all five enjoying a combined $127 billion in profits in 2007. At Congress’s recent hearings regarding the rising price of gasoline, lawmakers noted that the oil companies’ first quarter profits pointed to even greater record-breaking profits this year.
As market commentators note, demand drives up price, and up until now, that demand for oil came from the U.S. With China now driving up demand, financial experts predict that prices will go even higher. Higher than $4 a gallon? Hawaii residents would be hard hit.
Believe it or not, in 2002 we all complained when gas crept up to $1.17 a gallon. Back then, economists worried that oil would hit $55 a barrel. This week, oil shot past $130 a barrel. If a family drives two cars to town each day to take children to private schools or go to work, this hike in prices would cost over $600 a month more than in 2002.
With our high cost of living, Hawaii families could benefit greatly if cars had much higher fuel efficiency. Cutting costs spent at the gas pump means more money available for mortgage or rent payments, personal loan or credit car payments, school tuition, medical or dental needs, and other family expenses.
The Honolulu Star-Bulletin not too long ago chronicled personal stories of Hawaii families who told about how paying more at the pump means they have less to pay for everything else. That’s true. I wonder how many of the current homes in foreclosure are due to families paying so much for gas that they cannot meet their mortgage payments. Surely when those families applied for their home loans five or six years ago, they were able to make payments based on commuting costs that were much less than they are now.
Do you feel it would help Hawaii residents if cars got more miles to the gallon so that we spend less at the pump?
California’s commitment to energy efficiency and clean air puts it right near the bottom of states in per capita electricity use, with the added benefit of avoiding the expense of building 20 power plants over the last decade. California’s high efficiency standards for appliances have helped buffer spikes in electricity prices.
In the arena of autos, the commitment to clean air and energy efficiency also spells out savings at the pump. California regulates and encourages low greenhouse gas emissions by giving tax credits for alternative fuel and hybrid vehicles, and allowing single drivers of hybrid cars to ride in the express lane. Because one of the ways to reduce emissions is to increase the fuel efficiency of cars, California’s lower emissions standards have the indirect effect of raising the number of miles per gallon that cars can achieve.
California’s most recent measure to tighten up greenhouse gas standards will have the effect of raising automobile fuel efficiency to 36 miles per gallon by 2016 and 44 miles per gallon by 2020. Since the new standards were more stringent than federal standards, California sought a waiver from the federal Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), something it had requested and received 40 times before.
This time, however, the EPA denied the application, which was seen as a victory for American automakers.
Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger sued the EPA this past January, asserting the state’s right to set higher standards. Fifteen states that also adopted higher standards all joined the lawsuit: Arizona, Connecticut, Delaware, Illinois, Maine, Maryland, Massachusetts, New Jersey, New Mexico, New York, Oregon, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, Vermont and Washington. Colorado, Florida and Utah did not join the suit but plan to adopt the higher standards. Altogether, these states cover about half the population of the U.S.
If California gets the waiver, cars sold in these states will have much greater fuel efficiency than at present. With almost half of the country in line to reap the economic benefits of cars that get 36 to 44 miles per gallon (a huge increase over the current 8 to 18 miles per gallon), Hawaii would benefit by tagging on to the market power of its sister states so our residents also get cheaper-to-keep cars.
Should Hawaii join the other 18 states so that we pay much less for gas than we pay now? Let me know. Send me your comments at senespero@capitol.hawaii.gov.
Senator Will Espero represents the 20th Senatorial District (Waipahu, Ewa, Ewa Beach and West Loch) on the Island of Oahu. He also serves as the Chair of the Senate’s Public Safety Committee.