Thanks to our friends at the Competitive Enterprise Institute up in DC for calling my attention to this little tidbit on the CNN web site. Here are some highlights of the kind of prices that they are paying for gasoline in Europe, where, thanks in large part to the influence of radical environmentalists, prices and regulations are stiff. Try these prices on for size–$4.74 in Switzerland, $5.79 in the UK and $6.48 in the Netherlands.

Are these kinds of prices out of the question for the U.S.? Not if the global warming alarmists have their way. According to the Department of Energy’s Energy Information Agency, if the United States instituted the requirements of the Kyoto Protocol it would raise the price of Gasoline by 52.8 percent. At today’s prices of about $2.55 a gallon, this would mean a $1.35 increase in the price. In other words, if the U.S. Senate had ratified this treaty Americans would be paying almost $4.00 a gallon. Unfortunately, even though the Bush administration has wisely rejected Kyoto, North Carolinians still may face its wrath at the gas pump. Environmental pressure groups like Environmental Defense are attempting to circumvent the Feds by getting individual states, including North Carolina, to adopt Kyoto like CO2 regulations. Unfortunately these groups have an inordinate influence on our state government. Legislation currently under consideration to establish a global warming commission for the state would be dominated by three of these alarmist groups and several individuals who have close ties with such groups–either as contributors, board members, or consultants. If you like European gas prices you love what many on this commission have in mind for North Carolina.