Skip to Content
Streetsblog USA home
Streetsblog USA home
Log In
Gas Prices

Steven Chu Forced to Recant Belief in Higher Gas Prices

steven_chu.jpg

The indignities are piling up for Steven Chu, the Nobel laureate Secretary of Energy whom environmentalists applauded as one of Obama's best cabinet picks. His security detail won't let the lifelong cyclist bike to work. And on Earth Day, he fielded questions like this one (via Talking Points Memo) during a House hearing on the proposed climate bill. Texas representative Joe Barton asked Chu where oil comes from, and the Energy Secretary delved into plate tectonics. Barton boasted afterward that he had "baffled" Chu.

I had a webcast of this hearing streaming in the background, and my ears perked up when I heard this exchange about gas prices between Chu and Florida Republican Cliff Stearns (starts at the 32:30 mark):

Stearns to Chu: Last September you made a statement that somehow we have to boost the price of gasoline to the levels of Europe, which at the time exceeded $8 per gallon. As Secretary of Energy would you speak for or against any measures to raise the price of gasoline?

Chu: The Secretary of Energy, especially now in today's economic climate, would be completely unwise to want to increase the price of gasoline. We're looking forward to reducing the cost of transportation in the American family. This is done by encouraging more fuel efficient cars. This is done by developing alternative forms of fuel like biofuels that can lead to a separate source, an independent source of transportation fuel.

Stearns: You can't honestly believe that you want the American people to pay for gasoline at the prices the level in Europe.

Chu: No we don't.

Stearns: Your statement that gas prices ought to rise to the level of Europe, doesn't that sound a little bit silly, in retrospect, for you to say that?

Chu: Yes.

Chu's tongue may be tied for political reasons, but holding gas prices -- and the gas tax -- steady is going to make any push for transit a whole lot tougher.

Stay in touch

Sign up for our free newsletter

More from Streetsblog USA

Friday Video: Get Thee To Ghent

The Belgian city banned cars from its inner core in 2017 — and it's working!

April 4, 2025

Friday’s Headlines Hit the Brakes

New administrations often reverse policies, but rarely do they go after money already allocated like the Trump administration is doing, Grist reports.

April 4, 2025

US DOT Doesn’t Want to Fund Road Diets Anymore

One of America's largest road safety programs will look "unfavorably" on applications that reduce lane capacity for vehicles – even in urban areas where there's nowhere else to build bike lanes, sidewalk extension, and other sorely-needed infrastructure.

April 3, 2025

Talking Headways Podcast: Planning Connections in Panther City

Fort Worth's Kelly Porter on the city's city’s history, incredible growth and Texas high-speed rail.

April 3, 2025

Thursday’s Headlines Ask for Privacy

Under the Elon Musk administration, private investment might be the only way forward for intercity rail, but it's not as if such ventures have it easy.

April 3, 2025
See all posts