Tensions in the Gaza Strip and the Ukraine are causing world oilprices to increase and local gasoline prices are already respondingas well, with local gas prices up several cents over the past fewdays.

On Friday, exactly one year from the date that oil eclipsed the$100 per barrel mark, oil prices again were on the rise – this timeto $46. The past 12 months have been a roller coaster ride forconsumers as gasoline that was at the $4 per gallon level in Julywas sitting at the $1.45 level Saturday morning.

While we all are enjoying the current price levels, the effortsto conserve fuel to reduce our dependency on foreign oil may haveus in a “Catch-22” situation. The reduction in gas consumption iscausing a serious decline in tax revenues needed to build andmaintain our streets and roads. While current low gasoline pricesmake everyone happy, rising gas prices and demand for morefuel-efficient vehicles reopen the tax issue.

In Oregon lawmakers are considering options to counteract thedeficit. One idea floated several years ago in the Pacific coaststates and now gaining steam among other states and even inWashington is a mileage tax or a tax on how many miles one drivesin a year!

As cars burn less fuel, “the gas tax isn’t going to fill thebill,” an Oregon lawmaker told the Associated Press recently.Governors in Idaho and Rhode Island are also considering systemsthat would require drivers to report mileage when they registertheir vehicles. In North Carolina last month a panel suggestedreplacing their gas tax with a quarter-cent per mile charge. Otherdiscussions have pointed to a GPS tracking device to reportmileage.

The notion has it critics – those who are concerned aboutprivacy matters and others who fear the tax could eliminate thefinancial incentive for building and buying fuel efficientvehicles.

Not sure where this is going, but several things are certain.While we have to reduce our dependency on foreign oil, we also haveto have a funding mechanism to build and maintain our nation’shighways.