romansland

Why we need gasoline tax, and how to lower fuel consumption

Prices are high

So the truckers are protesting against high gas-prices in several countries. The truckers are unhappy and demand compensation from their governments, and to increase the pressure, their actions are directed at the general public.

This is all wrong. Everybody always wants compensation from the government, be it truckers, farmers, fishermen or busdrivers. This makes no sense, as the government is not the cause of their trouble. The cause is the price of crude oil, which has gone up from 40 dollar to an incredible 135 dollar per barrel in four years. Ironically, as the fuel tax is a fixed price per liter, this means the relative taxation has gone down from 72.8% in 2004 to 57.6% at this moment.

So before we try to find a solution, we must ask: why has the price of oil increased so much? Quite simple: the production of oil is stalling while the demand is increasing. It has been theorised by Mr Hubbert in 1956 that the pattern of oil production follows a certain curve: at first production rises due to the discovery of new oil-fields, than it stalls as the discovery rate equals the rate at which the oil-fields run out, finally the production decreases as the discovery of new oil-fields cannot keep up. The US oil production followed this curve nicely with a peak in 1970, as predicted. The moment that world production will peak is called peak oil. When this will happen or wether it has already happened is of course a matter of debate, but it is likely to be around 2005-2010, which means about now.

I hear crazy things about who is to blame for high gasoline prices: taxes, speculation, accidents, or an OPEC strategy. But the fact of the matter is that is simply about supply and demand. The elasticity of oil is very low, meaning we have very few alternatives at the moment, and this accounts for the soaring prices. This also means that high gasoline prices are here to stay and will in fact keep on rising no matter what.

The only solution is to reduce our consumption. This is important in several ways. First, it is better for our environment. Second, it stop the constant flow of oil money to abroad, money which we could better spend here to improve our own economies. Third, the money now gives support to undemocratic and isolationist powers and we must stop that. Governments in countries such as Saudi Arabia, Russia, Iran and Venezuela are basically legitimized by a large budget surplus, not by their actions. Their citizens will not complain as long as there is money to spend or it is too late.

And the best way to reduce consumptions is by having a fuel tax. Thus I am in favor of increasing the fuel tax (and perhaps reduce some other tax in return). The best idea I’ve heard so far is to set up some sort of buyer’s cartel of countries that raise the fuel tax, thereby forcing the oil-producing countries to lower their prices and keeping the money mostly in our own pockets.

Lower your own fuel consumption

I have been driving a car to work in the past 2 months and have picked up some strategies for lowering my fuel consumption. They are not rigorously tested, but I did go down from 16 km per liter to 19 km per liter, which is quite good for a volkswagen Fox.

I have tried to put these in order of importance:

1. Avoid driving. Obviously, but matters a lot.
2. Buy a car with a small and efficient engine. Why do you need a car that goes 200 km/h if you are only allowed to go 120 km/h? If you need a big engine for quick manoevering, you just are not very good at driving.
3. Buy a car with low air-friction.
4. Buy a light-weight car. Matters especially for city-driving. This and the last two points are indicated by the car’s official fuel consumption.
5. Drive in the highest possible gear. As long as your rev doesn’t go below 1500 there is never a problem. You can go to fourth gear when you go 50 km/h, to fifth when you go 70 km/h. When you accelerate from a green light go to second gear as soon as possible. Don’t accelerate in a too-high gear though, you’ll increase consumption of you press the gas-pedal too far. Accelarating quickly to go to a higher gear is good, surprisingly.
6. Drive slowly. Do not go over the speed limit. Drive 100 km/h where you can go 120 km/h. Calculate for yourself what the time difference is. This point combined with the previous shows that the best way to drive a car is to go 70 km/h (or less) in fifth gear.
7. Anticipate situations or other traffic. Can be very important. It’s a bit of a sport: try to never break in a traffic jam or elsewhere. Think ahead. Do not accelerate if you have to decelerate later on.
8. Slow down without breaking. There is some confusion on whether to drive in neutral (clutch pressed) or to use the engine for breaking. The engine in modern cars completely shuts off fuel flow if you use your engine for breaking, if you drive in neutral the engine needs a little bit of gas to keep running. But: breaking with your engine gives large friction losses inside the engine. The rule of thumb is: slowing down in neutral is better, unless this means you will have to apply the breaks later on. In that case, using the engine for breaking is preferable. It may even be theoretically be possible to lower your fuel consumption if you keep accelating and slowing down while driving, though this is better suited for hybrid cars. Do not turn of the engine in your car as you will lose pressure on the breaking fluid the second time you use the breaks, as I can testify.
9. Avoid air-conditioning. Also avoid other appliances if you don’t need them: rear window heating, lights etc.
10. Keep your tires inflated to the right pressure.
11. Keep your windows closed. Use the ventilation system instead.
12. Lower the weight of your car. Do not bring unnecessary stuff.