What's Off the Table for Now

Finding 3: Just as there’s widespread support on promising ideas, there also seems to be broad agreement on what’s off the table. Anything that increases the cost of driving is soundly rejected by the public. People are willing to change their behavior in many ways, but they don’t want to be forced into it.

Many experts and policymakers believe that the only way to really change energy use in the United States is to make driving more expensive. Unless the cost of gas is high, these experts argue, people won’t conserve and there will be no incentive to develop alternatives (which are usually more expensive than oil). But right now this is the only strategy that is firmly rejected by the public, no matter how it’s garbed.

It’s not that the public is unwilling to change how they drive; in fact most Americans say they already have. Two-thirds (66 percent) say they cut back significantly on how much they drove in the previous six months. Majorities say they are willing to cut back on leisure driving (78 percent), accept the return of the 55-miles an hour speed limit on highway driving (64 percent) or carpool to work or school more than half the time (55 percent). Fully one-third say they’ve looked into getting a hybrid or a more fuel-efficient car.

But they’re not ready to have changes imposed upon them. For example, congestion pricing (where drivers are charged a higher toll on certain roads at peak times of day) is opposed by 61 percent of the public, with 41 percent strongly opposed.

Raising gas taxes, another frequently suggested strategy for reducing energy use, is just as unpopular. A 40 cent per gallon increase is rejected by majorities no matter what the rationale is, whether to improve roads and bridges (61 percent), to help achieve energy independence (57 percent) or to support development of clean, renewable energy (53 percent).

One of the few ideas less popular than a gas tax is the idea of the government setting a “floor” on energy prices, an idea supported by some experts who argue that the government should ensure that alternative energy is competitive with fossil fuels. Fully 71 percent reject the idea of the government passing a law to ensure gas is no cheaper than $4 per gallon to encourage alternative fuels. Nearly 6 in 10 (58 percent) strongly oppose the idea.