Energy Taxes: Rocket launch

The economy or the environment? How about both? Congress approved Wednesday $18 billion in new oil company taxes, money that will be used to spur investment in wind, solar and alternative sources.

There is a hard truth at work here. The rising price of gasoline is the quickest way to wean this country from foreign oil. If gas hits $4 a gallon soon, most consumers will do two things: They will drive less. And they will look for workable alternatives -- vehicles that will be propelled by alternative energy if the price is right.

No one likes high fuel prices. But it's the right medicine for the country's future. Indeed, during an election year, it would have been easy for Congress to push cheap gas and continue our oil addiction. But Congress just said no to big oil.

"We're ready to launch a rocket of clean-energy innovation in this country," said Rep. Jay Inslee, D-Bainbridge Island, and the proponent of initiating a New Apollo Project to do for energy what President Kennedy did for space in the 1960s. "We're about two seconds away from having a burst of economic growth in this county. If they allow these tax breaks to expire, it'll strangle the birth of new industries."