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The Prism


December 1998
January 1999

Stories Columns
Eye on the Media

Estimate Puts True Cost of Gasoline at between $5.60 and $15.14 Per Gallon

Daily Environment Report, Nov. 18, 1998

A new report by the International Center for Technology Assessment has found that gasoline costs the US economy between $5.60 to $15.14 per gallon.

These costs are in the form of tailpipe emissions, industry tax breaks, and military protection for oil supplies and other types of "external costs" according to the report.

The group combined estimates of more than 40 externalities and found that the US spends between $558.7 million and $1.69 billion to support the production of gasoline, according to the report entitled: "The Real Price of Gasoline: Report No. 3, An Analysis of the Hidden External Costs Consumers Pay to Fuel Their Automobiles."

Environmental, health and social costs are the hardest to quantify, the report stated. These costs, however, appear to represent "the largest portion of the externalized price Americans pay for their gasoline reliance. The report should be a wake-up call" to drivers, said ICTA Director Andrew Kimball.

"The real price of gas has been hidden from the consumer for far too long."

The report can be obtained by contacting the International Center for Technology Assessment at (202)547-9359.

 



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