Mustering the energy.(Letter to the Editor)

Jerry Taylor and Peter Van Doren paint a bleak landscape beyond the "Energy Mirage" described in the September 13 issue. While I share their skepticism of glib promises of energy independence, I think the authors are too quick to dismiss automobile fuel economy as a step in the right direction.

We conservatives like to trust the free market to set process and to drive technology solutions. But as long as the indirect costs of fuel consumption remain "off the books," there is no reason to drive less, buy smaller vehicles, or adopt alternative, more expensive technologies. External costs such as maintaining a military presence in the Middle East and coping with global warming and pollution are paid for in ways not linked to fuel consumption--e.g., increased income taxes (or budget deficits), ...