AFTER some last-minute drama and serious arm-twisting earlier this month, the US House of Representatives approved the Gasoline for America’s Security Act by two votes. The GAS Act is a response to hurricanes Katrina and Rita, which knocked out a series of oil refineries and so pushed up pump prices. The legislation would make it easier to build more refineries.
The name is somewhat misleading, however. In the short term, the act might secure lower prices at the pumps. But by encouraging greater reliance on oil it would increase the country’s long-term vulnerability to the volatile politics of the Middle…
