that's only 4.64 kms per liter, or almost US$0.40 per mile!

Well... not really. Gasoline is highly (albeit indirectly) subsidized in America and sells for only about $1.60 a gallon, or about 40% of what it costs in Europe. So in America he is paying about US$0.15 per mile. Of course the actual cost is much higher when you factor in insurance, depreciation, tires, oil, etc. Even though the owners of these trucks would never admit it, their total cost of operation is probably in the range of US$0.60 to US$0.90 per mile.

[rant] People are going to ask now, "What subsidies?" Well, the government leases land to the oil companies at far less than the true value. The government provides an extensive transportation infrastucture. The government provides a great deal of tax relief to oil companies. The government does not address the true costs of burning fossil fuels -- billions of dollars are spent every year cleaning fossil fuel residues from the atmosphere, the water, the whole environment. Our descendents will curse our very graves in years to come. "To think they had such an incredibly valuable resource as petrochemicals -- the building blocks by which you can make nearly anything -- and of all the idiotic damned things they did with it they burned it to move their cars and heat their houses."

If you factor in the true value of fossil fuel (not just the expense of extracting it and refining it) and the damage done by its use, I would guess that even $10 a gallon wouldn't come close to its true cost. [/rant]

tanstaafl.



"There Ain't No Such Thing As A Free Lunch"