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I used to think that raising the price of gas would be a good
thing. People would conserve more, the government would be spending
a little less, and alternative energy systems would have less of a
disadvantage when competing against fossil fuels. And perhaps in
small increments at the right times it could be. However, outright
ending the subsidies to oil companies would be a resoundingly *bad*
idea. Here's why.<br>
<br>
I've seen a couple of studies on the web that claim that without
fossil fuel subsidies, we would be paying anywhere between $12.75
and $15.14 a gallon for gas. Here is a link to an article about one
from 1998:
<a class="moz-txt-link-freetext" href="http://www.commondreams.org/pressreleases/Nov%2098/111698e.htm">http://www.commondreams.org/pressreleases/Nov%2098/111698e.htm</a><br>
<br>
Imagine what that would do to your average person in this economy.
The price of almost everything would rocket sky-high. Items we buy
are shipped mostly by truck, by sea, or by air. All of these
methods would be affected by such a large spike in the cost of gas.
If you wanted to put the brakes on a fragile economic turnaround
that is trying to happen right now, I can't think of a better way.
People living paycheck-to-paycheck would be hurt the most. Food
prices would be the first casualty, and that would affect a lot of
people in a bad way. Tourism and travel would also suffer greatly.
So would companies that sell the least essential items, because
people would have less money to spend because of the price of
everything else has gone up. The evil 1%-ers would be affected the
least by this. Not everyone is in a position to walk or bike to
work, and we live in a country that has been designed around the
automobile. Mass transit is adequate only in the highest-density
areas of the country. <br>
<br>
In the long run, after the damage has been done and life as we know
it has changed and we're back on the road to recovery a decade or
two from now, we probably would have more access to alternative
energy systems and public transportation, just out of sheer
necessity. But at what price? I would bet that more undue hardship
would happen to more people in the next ten years if you turned
subsidies off tomorrow than climate change (whatever it's cause)
would in the next fifty.<br>
<br>
When the economy has recovered a bit more, I could back a scheme to
move a small portion of those subsidies from the fossil fuel
industry to alternative energy research. Easing us into less of a
dependence on oil might be wise, as long as we keep working on
alternative energy, power grid updates, and mass transit and as long
as we do so slowly in order to reduce the shock on the populace.
It's definitely worth looking into, anyway.<br>
<br>
Paul<br>
<br>
<br>
On 03/16/2012 04:18 PM, Ted Moffett wrote:
<blockquote
cite="mid:CAJ-QB6U0NpBEEPdyWjV7z_bDHgWnXkAvKtgFBANV1HmuwnnHQw@mail.gmail.com"
type="cite">
<div class="gmail_quote">
<div>
<div style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif; font-size: 13px;
line-height: 21px;">
<p> </p>
<p>Dear friends,</p>
<p>We just recorded a new video that I think you’ll enjoy: <a
moz-do-not-send="true"
href="http://act.350.org/go/1206?akid=1667.703294.WiG_WZ&t=1"
target="_blank">www.350.org/join-the-fight</a></p>
<p><a moz-do-not-send="true"
href="http://act.350.org/go/1206?akid=1667.703294.WiG_WZ&t=2"
target="_blank"><img moz-do-not-send="true"
style="margin: 5px auto; display: block;"
src="https://s3.amazonaws.com/s3.350.org/images/bill-mckibben-join-the-fight-video-screenshot-sized.jpg"
alt="" width="500" height="353"></a></p>
<p><b>I'm pretty sure this video won't go viral and get 50
million views in 24 hours -- and it doesn't need to.</b>
It’s more of an internal update for the extended <a
moz-do-not-send="true" href="http://350.org"
target="_blank">350.org</a> family, a chance for all of
us to reflect and get ready for some busy months ahead. </p>
<p><b>As <a moz-do-not-send="true" href="http://350.org"
target="_blank">350.org</a> co-founder Bill McKibben
explains in <a moz-do-not-send="true"
href="http://act.350.org/go/1206?akid=1667.703294.WiG_WZ&t=3"
target="_blank">the video</a>, we're gearing up for a
major new fight to end the billions of dollars in
subsidies the fossil fuel industry receives each year</b>
-- the tax-breaks, handouts, and loopholes that are just
adding to the record-breaking profits that these companies
are already making. And perhaps most importantly, getting
rid of fossil fuel subsidies across the board would be a
huge step to cutting carbon emissions and putting us back
on a pathway to 350 ppm.</p>
<p>The subsidies battle is gaining momentum, and fast. In a
recent speech, President Obama called for an end to
subsidies to Big Oil and said, “Let's put every single
member of Congress on record: You can stand with oil
companies or you can stand up for the American people.”</p>
<p>As you probably know, we haven’t agreed with President
Obama on everything, but we think getting every member of
Congress on the record is a great idea. As a first step,
we just launched <a moz-do-not-send="true"
href="http://act.350.org/go/1206?akid=1667.703294.WiG_WZ&t=4"
target="_blank">this short and simple petition</a> that
reads: <i>"I call on Congress to end all subsidies to
fossil fuel companies, and invest in green jobs and
clean energy instead."</i></p>
<p><b><a moz-do-not-send="true"
href="http://act.350.org/go/1206?akid=1667.703294.WiG_WZ&t=5"
target="_blank">Please take a minute to add your name
to the petition calling for Congress to put an end to
fossil fuel subsidies</a></b>. Over the next month,
we'll ramp up the pressure -- on Twitter, on Facebook,
over the phones, and in district -- to get every
politician to tell us where he or she stands on these
subsidies. For now, we'll use this petition to show
Congress how important this issue is -- and when we launch
our big push to get every member of Congress on the
record, they'll know that we have an army of concerned
citizens who have our back. </p>
<p><b>As Rev. Lennox Yearwood of the Hip-Hop Caucus says in
the video, “To make this movement successful, we have to
continue to keep the pressure going.” </b>We couldn't
agree more. Along with taking on fossil fuel subsidies,
we're gearing up for some massive new efforts to build
this movement:</p>
<ul>
<li>Taking on more iconic fossil fuel fights across the
country and around the world.</li>
<li>“Connecting the Dots” between climate change and
extreme weather -- expect more on that front <i>very</i> soon! </li>
<li>Training and supporting thousands of new climate
leaders to strengthen our movement.</li>
<li>And lots more…</li>
</ul>
<p>None of this work is possible without your participation
and leadership. As Bill says in <a moz-do-not-send="true"
href="http://act.350.org/go/1206?akid=1667.703294.WiG_WZ&t=6"
target="_blank">the video</a>: <i>“This fight is going
to be a lifetime fight. I’m so, so, so grateful to all
of you who are playing such a huge role in it.”</i></p>
<p>On we go,</p>
<p>May Boeve for the <a moz-do-not-send="true"
href="http://350.org" target="_blank">350.org</a> Team</p>
<hr>
<p><b style="text-decoration: underline;">Links and Articles</b></p>
<p><a moz-do-not-send="true"
href="http://act.350.org/go/1209?akid=1667.703294.WiG_WZ&t=7"
target="_blank">"Scrapping fossil-fuel subsidies would
get us halfway on climate change"</a> - The Washington
Post: <a moz-do-not-send="true"
href="http://act.350.org/go/1209?akid=1667.703294.WiG_WZ&t=8"
target="_blank">go.350.org/ypIIRs</a></p>
</div>
<hr>
<p><a moz-do-not-send="true"
href="http://350.org?akid=1667.703294.WiG_WZ&t=9"
target="_blank">350.org</a> is building a global movement
to solve the climate crisis. Connect with us on <a
moz-do-not-send="true" href="http://facebook.com/350.org"
target="_blank">Facebook</a> and <a
moz-do-not-send="true" href="http://twitter.com/350"
target="_blank">Twitter</a>, and <a
moz-do-not-send="true"
href="http://350.org/signup?akid=1667.703294.WiG_WZ&t=10"
target="_blank">sign up for email alerts</a>. You can help
power our work by getting involved locally and <a
moz-do-not-send="true"
href="http://350.org/donate?akid=1667.703294.WiG_WZ&t=11"
target="_blank">donating here.</a> </p>
What is 350? <a moz-do-not-send="true"
href="http://350.org/science?akid=1667.703294.WiG_WZ&t=12"
target="_blank">Go to our website</a> to learn about the
science behind the movement.
<p> </p>
<p><i>-----------------------------------------------------------------</i></p>
<p><i>Vision2020 Post: Ted Moffett<br>
</i></p>
<i>
</i>
<p>
</p>
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