Funny Exxon Gas Station Sign, but…
The sign above has gotten extremely popular on the internet. It is definitely funny. But it misses some key points, as most news about gas does these days.
I reported on Cleantechnica last July that while the raw price of gas as we see or write it has gone up in recent years, gasoline taxes are relatively low, the lowest they’ve been in decades. Not raising the gas tax causes serious problems for our nation’s infrastructure. I would say it is a key reason why we are so far behind Europe and China in high-speed rail, and it is definitely a reason why municipalities around the nation are struggling to find funds just to maintain their transportation infrastructure.
And there’s one more problem with not raising the gas tax — it is increasing the rate at which we are speeding towards peak oil or falling downhill from it. Transportation is by far the greatest consumer of oil and is rapidly driving the costs of food and other important goods up, as well as the cost of oil-based transportation of course.
We need to realize that oil production has peaked or will very soon peak and delaying progress on other forms of transportation by subsidizing driving is masochistic.
Raising the gas tax would raise the price at the pump even higher, but it would also create funds for investing in highly-needed transportation projects that will lead us into the next generation of transportation.
I know most people flat out aren’t willing to pay more at the pump, but it would help our society in the long-term (and even the not-so-long-term).
And remember, next time you feel like freaking out about the price of gas, the Europeans pay about twice as much for gas as Americans.
Related Stories:
- Exxon Gas Station Sign Funny, but Let’s Put Things into Perspective
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- Peak Oil & Sustainable Development Expert Talks about the Situation Today In-Depth [VIDEOS]
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