On pages 21 and 22, Wheelan mentions a huge problem at hand for America. The problem is the ignored cost of Americans driving automobiles so frequently. Wheelan writes "we don't have to pay for some of the other significant costs of our driving", and then he goes on to list some of the costs that Americans don't think about on a daily basis such as "the emissions we leave behind, the congestion we cause, the wear and tear on public roads, the danger we pose to drivers in smaller cars" etc.(21) Within a few sentences, this immense problem seems easily resolved. Wheelan proposes that putting higher taxes on gasoline and cars will "reflect the real social cost of that activity". His idea could be carried out on a federal level (as was attempted in June of this year by a few Senators, according to a Huffington Post article by Joan Lowy- http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2014/06/18/senate-gas-tax_n_5507640.html) and then, maybe the higher physical cost of gas would make drivers of "hulking SUV"'s think twice before hopping in their car. Success seems highly probable with this solution because less people driving, because less people want to pay for expensive gas to fuel their car, will mean less exhaust in the environment, and less damage would be done to the public roads and less maintenance would have to go into fixing said roads; however, is there still an opportunity cost? even for an easy fix?
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