The Price of Republican Gas

By David Hogberg & James Dellinger
The American Spectator

Consumers and politicians will have to learn about supply and demand if they want to cut the price of gas. Because a growing economy like ours won't reduce its demand for gas, the only real option is to increase supply. That makes drilling in ANWR one of the few good energy policy proposals before Congress. Sadly, few things are harder to get passed in Congress than good proposals.

I found this interesting:

Kingston's bill also increases to 10 percent the amount of ethanol that must be mixed with gasoline. That's a proposal that actually increases the cost of energy to consumers. Ethanol advocates like to say that a gallon of ethanol currently sells for about 30 cents less than a gallon of gasoline. What they don't admit is that it takes 1.5 gallons of ethanol to produce the same amount of energy as 1 gallon of gasoline. A car that gets 30 mpg on a gallon of gasoline will get 1/3 less gas mileage on a gallon of ethanol, or 20 mpg. Do you want to drive 300 miles? Then you will need to buy ten gallons of gasoline: At $3 dollars a gallon, it will cost you $30. But try that with ethanol in your tank and you will need to buy 15 gallons. At $2.70 a gallon, your cost to go 300 miles is $40.50. If consumers do the math, expect those new E85 vehicles to languish at dealer showrooms.