A higher gasoline tax would be a start, as it would likely encourage the consumption and production of more fuel-efficient vehicles. It's not likely to lead to reduced vehicle use, though.
***** ...[R]educed vehicle use could solve congestion woes and a host of social and environmental problems, but evidence from around the world suggests that it is very difficult to make people give up their cars to any significant extent. In the U.S., mass-transit ridership and carpooling have declined since World War II. Even in western Europe, with fuel prices averaging more than $1 a liter (about $4 a gallon) and with pervasive mass transit and dense populations, cars still account for 80 percent of all passenger travel....
<http://www.sciam.com/1196issue/1196sperling.html> *****
How much difference in energy consumption would a higher gasoline tax make in the States? (Not a rhetorical question.) -- Yoshie
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