Congress is working on an energy bill, and yesterday the Senate agreed to a provision that would mandate higher fuel efficiency for automobiles. Fuel efficiency is not a bad thing, but this is not the best way to reduce our consumption of fossil fuels.

It would be better to let gas prices go up, or even force them up through taxation. Here’s my reasoning, as I previously expressed in a Facebook post to the group called “High gas prices are a GOOD thing.” (That’s the name of the group, not the name of my post.)

I am disturbed that so many conversations about gas point to more miles per gallon as the solution. The answer is not more MPG, it is fewer G’s. I can drive a Hummer and still use less gas than my neighbor who drives a Prius, if I work from home and he has a 120-mile-per-day commute. Also, it doesn’t matter what your rated mileage is when you’re stuck in traffic or circling around endlessly looking for a parking space. Higher gas prices are the only way to force us to think about total gas consumption and reduce the amount of unnecessary gas usage.

One thing that would help is requiring car manufacturers to install meters on the dashboard that show current and average MPG ratings. My new Honda CR-V has this, and it certainly makes me more conscious of gas consumption whenever I drive. (Over the first 400 miles, I’m averaging about 20 MPG. Not great, but note that it took me a solid month to drive 400 miles. Some folks drive that much every week.)

Most of what Matt Miller says makes sense. He’s the author of The Two Percent Solution, which just makes too much sense for it to have any impact.

Here’s what Miller has to say about Republican anti-tax rants.

Tim is a good guy and I got to know him when I supported his candidacy for State Rep a couple years ago. We came up 64 votes short then. He’s running for what will be an open seat this November and I invite you to participate in and support his campaign. His web site is brand new and a lot remains under construction, but there is enough there now to get you started.