Defunct
The Voluntary Gas Tax project operated from 2001 to 2006. In 2007 we shut down the project. We've left the old web pages posted here just for the historical record.
If you would like to contact me about this site, my e-mail address is posted on my homepage.
We've all been hearing about greenhouse gases, global warming, and climate change. We know that the burning of fossil fuels is one of the biggest contributors to greenhouse gases in our atmosphere. For the average American, driving a car accounts for 20 percent of their greenhouse emissions. If we could all drive less, use more efficient vehicles, or find alternatives to petroleum, we could dramatically reduce our impact on the environment.
While we are still using fossil fuels, there are ways we can counter the effects of our emissions.
One purpose of taxes is to generate revenue for public benefit. Taxes can also be used as disincentives on certain activities. By voluntarily choosing to tax your driving, you can provide revenue to support organizations looking for alternatives or offsetting the effects of driving. You will also be paying a cost closer to the real social and environmental costs of driving.
Unlike many taxes, this tax is voluntary and can legally be considered a tax deductible donation. So why do we call it a tax? Many governments are considering charging just such a tax, but they are moving slowly. By calling this voluntary financial support a tax, we are lending support to governments that are considering charging such a tax.
Unbalanced carbon dioxide (CO2) creation is probably the biggest cause of climate change. There are ways to balance CO2 production by preserving and creating new "carbon sinks" which absorb CO2 and lock it away in plants. The primary mitigation method currently available is the preservation or restoration of forested lands. Other ecosystems like prairies and wetlands can also absorb a significant amount of CO2 per year, but forests on average are the most effective carbon sinks.
Mitigation is not enough. There isn't enough land available in the world to absorb the CO2 at our current rate of fossil fuel consumption. We must find alternatives that reduce our CO2 production.
One alternative is to develop more fuel efficient automobiles and to fuel them using renewable energy sources, such as biofuels, wind power and solar electricity.
However, these steps will likely not be enough. We should also support changes in our society and infrastructure to make efficient transportation methods more available and appealing; making urban public transportation more convenient, reducing urban sprawl, providing infrastructure for bicycles, and making inter-urban rail faster and more prevalent.
Our original goal was to figure out how much it would cost to plant trees that would absorb the carbon produced by driving. This proved to be extremely difficult. There are several organizations claiming to completely offset carbon emissions, but it's not clear what they're basing their figures on. Economics, climate science, and public policy are inexact sciences. It's challenging to determine exactly how much carbon a forest will absorb, how much the land and maintenance of that forest will cost now and in the future, and what projects should count as mitigating human impact on global climate. Most of all, it's uncertain how much carbon can be emitted without severe effects on the Earth's biosphere.
Given the uncertainty and the voluntary nature of this project, we instead decided to ask the members to vote on what the tax rate should be. The group votes every spring, and that determines the tax rate for the upcoming year. In 2006, our membership set the rate at forty-five cents per gallon of gasoline.
We can't guarantee that by paying this rate, your driving will be completely mitigated. But the amount you pay will help plant trees and support alternatives to fossil fuel based driving.
The Voluntary Gas Tax is based in the United States and focuses primarily on U.S. drivers. We're happy to have members from around the world. We apologize for the fact that the U.S. doesn't use the metric system.
For your reference, to convert gallons to liters, multiply by 3.8. To convert miles to kilometers, multiply by 1.6.