Feds shouldn’t OK more smog

Should the federal government allow more pollution from automobiles in exchange for lower prices at the pump? That’s a possibility the Bush administration is pondering as gasoline prices have pushed past the $2-a-gallon mark in most parts of the country. Several questions should have to be answered first:

• Is such a strategy even necessary? Fuel prices fluctuate all the time. Some analysts say prices will drop as OPEC increases production and the seasonal transition to summer-grade fuels is completed.

• Would such a strategy even work? The plan entails reducing the number of blends of gasoline that are used around the country. Some states and municipalities mandate cleaner-burning fuels that are best-suited to their climates. Producing such “boutique blends” costs more and puts communities at the mercy of single suppliers.

But it’s not clear how much of a factor that is in the current spike in prices. Atlanta requires a boutique blend, but its price of gasoline is still less than $2 a gallon. Meanwhile, prices in Spokane and Seattle, where cheaper blends are used, are 20 to 30 cents a gallon more.

• Is increased pollution worth it? If the strategy were to lower gasoline prices, then more fuel would be purchased and that fuel would be dirtier. Dirtier air and increased health risks are inevitable. As economists are fond of saying, “There is no free lunch.”

• Is this short-term measure worth delaying the day of reckoning that our insatiable demand for fuel is bad for the country? High fuel prices convert more people to the idea that increased fuel mileage standards for all vehicles are a good idea. More people will buy compact cars and hybrids. More people will demand that fuel mileage loopholes for SUVs and minivans be closed.

While nobody likes paying more for gasoline, the current situation hardly calls for a last-resort measure, such as rolling back pollution standards. Inflation-adjusted gasoline prices are still considerably lower than they were 20 years ago. And people have options. They can drive less, get a smaller car and cut other parts of their budgets. If they’re headed out for vacations, they can spend less on lodging and food to make up for increased transportation costs.

Too many Americans have come to view cheap gasoline as an entitlement. That belief has been abetted by political leaders who don’t have the courage to explain the ramifications, such as an increased reliance on outcomes in volatile and violent areas of the world.

The government should not intervene by rolling back pollution standards. It’s time the United States faced up to the consequences of its appetite for fuel.