Fuel standards

And they call themselves Republicans:

The Bush administration proposed higher fuel economy standards for SUVs and minivans yesterday with a new regulatory system that sets different mileage goals for six sizes of vehicles, replacing the current single standard for all light trucks.

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Administration officials say the regulations would result in more fuel savings than any previous increase in efficiency standards for larger vehicles. Transportation Secretary Norman Y. Mineta said the rules would save 10 billion gallons of gasoline and "result in less pain at the pump for motorists, without sacrificing safety."

I don't understand the brouhaha over fuel efficiency standards at all. We already have a mechanism to encourage fuel efficiency -- they're called prices. When prices go up people have to pay more. When they have to pay more then they are more likely to pay attention vehicles that consume less gas. All without government intervention. Same for other types of conservation. Want to promote greater water efficiency? Charge more for water. Further, higher costs of gas makes alternative sources of fuel more attractive. No one cares about hybrid cars when gas is a buck a gallon.

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On a related note I noticed that Maureen Dowd is kvetching about fuel prices in her latest column. This confuses me as well. I remember that liberals used to complain that gas prices in the U.S. were too low, thus promoting typical American overconsumption. We should be more like Europe, they cried, where sky-high taxes keeps the prices of gas in the troposphere. Now that they finally got what they want they blame Dubya. Typical. Actually I suspect that their anguish is due to the fact that the high prices benefit eeeevil oil companies rather than the government.

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Update: Gas is still cheaper than milk -- and beer!

Gas prices are on people's minds at the Giant, too, where another precious fluid comes in grades, like gas: a gallon of whole milk is $3.39; 2 percent is $3.29; 1 percent is $3.35; skim is $2.99.
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Headline: Gas prices approach milk.
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...Shopping at the liquor store is more economical: A six-pack of Budweiser is $5.43, or $9.65 3/10 per gallon.

Another update: Check out this graph on the price of gas (via instapundit).