America consumes roughly 145bn gallons of gas a year, so dividing aggregate costs into that number gives a per gallon cost. The $10-15 estimate includes known costs – nonlinear impacts like climate change are not included.
Current price: $3.45
Actual cost: $10.45 to $15.45
Known off-balance sheet costs
Security premium (military spending, $700bn – 1 Trillion): $4-6
Externalized pollution costs on human mortality ($345bn via Union of Concerned Scientists) : $2-3
Gov’t subsidies, traffic, accidents, free parking ($200-400bn via Center for Technology Assessment), etc: $1-3
Unknown off-balance sheet costs
Climate change
Additional unknowable risks (BP oil spill cleanup, health costs, etc)
Source: Energy & Capital
