COG Discusses Impacts of Rising Gasoline Prices On September 30th, approximately 40 participants gathered at the Metropolitan Washington Council of Governments for a panel discussion on the Impacts of Rising Gasoline Prices. Participants included officials from the State Energy Offices in the region, local government energy managers, and representatives of academia. The purpose of the forum was to discuss the economic impacts on the metropolitan Washington region, including impacts on the local government and consumers, as well as to develop some possible policy options. For this reason, the Council of Governments brought four local experts in areas related to economics, business, and public policy to collaborate on this issue. The four panelists included: Doug MacIntyre, Senior Market Analyst, Energy Information Administration; Dr. Jerome Paige, Economist, Jerome Paige & Associates; Dr. Charles Olson, Director, Business Honors Logistics, Business, & Public Policy, University of Maryland; · Dr. Stephen Fuller, Director, Center for Regional Analysis, School of Public Policy, George Mason University The discussion was moderated by Nikole Killion, news anchor/reporter from WJLA/News Channel 8. The panelist made recommendations such as: 1. Consumers should take more advantage of alternative commuting options such as car pooling, teleworking, van pooling, and biking to work; 2. Fleet managers should use their fleets more efficiently, such as scrapping inefficient vehicles use of fleets; 3. Expansion of the mass transit system. Additionally, it is expected that this winter’s energy prices, particularly heating oil prices, will be hirer than originally predicted. COG’s mission in conducting the panel is to develop a list of best management practices and potential policy recommendations that region could adopt. To that extent, this will be an on-going process, where COG will continue to collaborate with these experts to develop some viable options for the region. ----------- Release Date: Oct 5, 2005