This isn't my usual type of topic for Sucker Born Every Minute, but I felt like a sucker myself in my lack of awareness of the true cost of gas when I read these stats in today's op-ed by Lisa Margonelli called "Five Myths about Greener Energy" (Washington Post, reprinted in the St. Paul Pioneer Press).
We all grumble about $3.00 a gallon gas, but check out these numbers for a shock. For each gallon of gas, we're also paying in hidden costs (through our taxes, health insurance premiums, or increased prices) that are directly attributable to our car addiction:
- $.51 for asthma treatment
- $1.21 for pollution abatement
- $1.39 for defense expenditures (needed to keep our supply of oil available)
- $5.19 for economic costs (increased prices, lost employment and other disruptions caused by sudden changes in the price of oil)
These figures are according to Milton Copulos of the National Defense Council Foundation. And the NDCF is no environmental organization... it's a national security organization, founded in 1978 by economists and current and former members of the U.S. military.
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