The Price of Gas

What's the price of gasoline? In the U.S. it's about $4 a gallon. But some experts say the true price of gas is much higher. What about the costs of pollution, and the global and local problems caused by it? Who pays for those? This animated feature from the Center for Investigative Reporting calculates the carbon footprint and other "external costs" of gasoline use in the U.S.

Reported by Sarah Terry-Cobo
Produced by Carrie Ching and Sarah Terry-Cobo
Sound mix and editing by Carrie Ching
Animation and illustration by Arthur Jones

How much would you be willing to pay for gas? Share your thoughts with California Watch and CIR:
http://www.publicinsightnetwork.org/form/center-for-investigative-reporting/a...

Read more: http://californiawatch.org/dailyreport/us-gas-artificially-cheap-what-we-dont...

Sources: http://www.documentcloud.org/documents/204228-price-of-gas-transcript.html

Category:

Nonprofits & Activism

Tags:

• gasoline
• gas prices
• saudi arabia
• california
• cap and trade
• greenhouse gas
• climate change
• global warming
• energy
• alternative energy
• fossil fuels
• oil
• petroleum
• price of gas
• animation
• cartoon
• LA
• Los Angeles

[sarahterrycobo]

@cyranodeluk Actually, there are several types of "greenhouse gas pollution" that we are referring to in the video. Yes, carbon dioxide is one, but we are also referring to methane (23 times more potent in the atmosphere than CO2) and nitrous oxide (300 times more potent than CO2). Even though it is not technically a "regulated" GHG, we are also referring to ground level ozone (O3), which is very harmful and creates smog.

[RawFoodKevin]

@anolmec I find your comments to be not only ignorant of a basic understanding of economics and the scientific process, but also intentionally dishonest.

You have discredited yourself in every comment you have made in this thread.

[jburdman7]

@ 2:56 "gas can evaporate straight through the metal without even being burned." - not true in any way since 1970! This is why your car has a "charcoal canister."

8Lbs of fuel can become 19Lbs of CO2 because the gas only supplies the Carbon. The gas is mixed at a ratio of 14.7:1 air to gas. The ATMOSPHERIC AIR supplies the Oxygen (the missing weight). see: "Stoichiometric Combustion"

[TankCop]

Lady I don't give FUCK what the other costs are all I care for is what I lose from my wallet!

[hounddog1413]

@nickfranky Actually the video states that burning it yields 19lbs (the other 6 were from extraction, transportation, refining, etc.).

I'm guessing when gasoline is burned, the carbon and hydrogen atoms combine with oxygen in the air (producing CO, CO2, H2O, etc.), adding to the overall weight.

[nickfranky]

Gas only weighs about 8lbs per gallon. How does burning that yield 25lbs?

[EFBauer21]

Another in a long history of ignorant just price theories.

Not to mention that oil spills aren't an externality, since they have the potential to pollute the environment and people's property firms have to have huge insurance policies, cover the costs to anyone whose property is damaged and pay for the clean up. That BP spill was cleaned up in less than 6 moths, mostly because natural bacteria of the gulf where natural spills occur eat it up quickly.

[EFBauer21]

Another in a long history of ignorant just price theories.

[sammolloy1]

Don't fall for this...watch what's happening in Europe with their debt crisis. "Green Taxes" are raised to pay the bankers, not stop pollution. Slow consumption by getting rid of America's complicated and ineffectual CAFE rules and simply raise license costs on vehicles by weight, exponentially.

[BucksheeRounds]

@judale54 How much do you think 25Ibs of CO2 weighs?

[ibeleaf]

fucking hippies. ever notice how ALL hippies live in big cities? because they're fucking hypocrites.

[judale54]

What a LIE how can something that weighs less than 8lbs make 25lbs of anything. Who made the BS AL GOREE