David, I think higher priced gas is fine, but the problem is that the fuel consuming devices being made, are not using the fuel in the efficient way they could be. It would cost a lot less to make an engine like they did in the 1960s, but no one wants something that ineffient or with the other drawbacks it came with. People are already demanding better mileage and engines, but the vehicle makers are not coming through with many mass produced models to make the pricing competitive with the more wasteful standard engines.

I agree we need to target consumption costs rather than vehicle costs. Its not the average fuel economy (which has been continuously improving over the years) that’s killing us, it’s the number of vehicles on the road and how far we drive them. If everyone drove a hybrid, we would still have a problem.

That said, the only way we are going to discourage inefficient energy consumption is by making the cost of the energy high enough to limit people’s ability to consume it. Sticking even an extra $5000 on the cost of a SUV is not going to slow the sales of the vehicles; however, increasing the cost of the gas needed to move it around to $3 per liter will kill the consumer SUV market dead. Most greenies don’t like this idea, they seem to think that they shouldn’t bear costs proportionate to their consumption, as if the emissions coming from the back of their Toyota Prius’ is somehow less damaging.