back in 2008, during the GFC, fuel prices at the pump reached $4 in LCOL areas. people were freaking out. I remember used luxury SUVs being all over craigslist for crazy cheap prices. suddenly everybody, not just the greens, wanted a little teeny car. and everybody was trying to figure out how to have a reduced commute, joining carpools, learning about bus schedules. the social economists talked about "demand destruction", a phenomenon where prices go so high, people make structural changes to avoid purchasing the good/service meaning that even if prices come down, some of the demand will not come back.
I read in 2009 that if gas prices included all the external costs of environmental rehabilitation, including carbon capture/offsets for the entire lifecycle, well to wheel, it would be like $12/gallon. some chud kid in the class said, "but our economy wouldn't survive that!" and I started laughing like a supervillain.
a lot of other countries put taxes on fuel consumption to build out transportation infrastructure. not america. we are racing to the red light to guarantee the hardest possible transition to decarbonize our economy.
and, of course, not even 4 years later, gas prices went back down and giant SUVs were back on the roads, hauling assholes around. not as many as the early 2000s, but enough to be angry.
back in 2008, during the GFC, fuel prices at the pump reached $4 in LCOL areas. people were freaking out. I remember used luxury SUVs being all over craigslist for crazy cheap prices. suddenly everybody, not just the greens, wanted a little teeny car. and everybody was trying to figure out how to have a reduced commute, joining carpools, learning about bus schedules. the social economists talked about "demand destruction", a phenomenon where prices go so high, people make structural changes to avoid purchasing the good/service meaning that even if prices come down, some of the demand will not come back.
I read in 2009 that if gas prices included all the external costs of environmental rehabilitation, including carbon capture/offsets for the entire lifecycle, well to wheel, it would be like $12/gallon. some chud kid in the class said, "but our economy wouldn't survive that!" and I started laughing like a supervillain.
a lot of other countries put taxes on fuel consumption to build out transportation infrastructure. not america. we are racing to the red light to guarantee the hardest possible transition to decarbonize our economy.
and, of course, not even 4 years later, gas prices went back down and giant SUVs were back on the roads, hauling assholes around. not as many as the early 2000s, but enough to be angry.