Another Green Monday: How much are you willing to pay at the pump?
It's true: Compared with other industrialized countries, our country pays less at the pump. We pay about half of what Europeans pay. They cough up roughly $8.50 per gallon (or $2.25 per liter). Don't get excited. The true price of gasoline is not what you think and this animated feature from the Center for Investigative Reporting shows you. It explores those other costs of gasoline use in America - like pollution and health.
What are the costs of oil spills? How about the billions toward clean ups like the Gulf of Mexico and Yellowstone? And every single year, states spend more than $600 million to clean up leaking underground gasoline storage tanks.
According to the California Watch, "in the last three decades, businesses, states, and the EPA have cleaned up 401,874 leaking underground gasoline storage tanks, with an estimated 93,123 more sites awaiting cleanup, according to an EPA representative. In 2010, the agency set aside $66.2 million in a fund for states to use for cleanup activities. The agency spends about $2 million to $3 million each year for cleanup on tribal land."
Sarah Cobo from California Watch continues in her article on the health effects:
Even though reducing toxic chemicals in gasoline might make it more expensive, the Environmental Protection Agency argues that clean air provides long-term cost benefits. A recent study of the Clean Air Act showed “the public health and environmental benefits ... exceed their costs by a margin of four to one.”
From 1990 to 2010, these regulations have prevented “23,000 Americans from dying prematurely ... avert(ed) over 1,700,000 incidences of asthma attacks and aggravation of chronic asthma,” the EPA states. In the same two decades, it also prevented more than 4.1 million lost workdays due to pollution-related illnesses.
As Sarah concludes, when you look at the pump and see, "oh crap, gas is $4 a gallon" and that seems expensive, think again. Or think of the social and environmental costs. Yes, these costs are hidden - and yes, the cost to society is high.
As gas prices continue to be used as political football, the question remains: How much are you willing to pay at the pump?
