We urge you to levy a surcharge on all oil used in the United States and to distribute all of the resulting revenue as cash payments to all U.S. households.
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Here is why this oil conservation policy is so important:

Oil is critically important to the economic vitality of the United States. For over a century we have benefited mightily from plentiful and low cost oil. But demand is now beginning to outstrip supply, worldwide. As a result, the price of oil has shot upward, reaching nearly $150/barrel in July 2008.

We have been temporarily rescued from escalating oil prices by the reduced demand due to our current economic recession. But the extremely high inherent value of oil, coupled with the collision between demand and supply (i.e., the rapidly increasing consumption in China and elsewhere, in the face of declining production due to depletion), means that in a very few years $150/barrel oil will be remembered fondly as being inexpensive! ... Unless we reduce demand by reducing consumption, which is what this surcharge policy will achieve.

By increasing the price of oil to more closely reflect its value, and by distributing the resulting revenue as cash payments to U.S. households, market forces will be unleashed that will effectively and rapidly reduce consumption of oil. Most importantly, the financial pain and economic drag associated with higher priced oil will be neutralized by the cash payments. And with the resulting decreased consumption, the net cost of oil will be held down.

This plan, and the many additional benefits that derive from it, are summarized at www.conserve-oil.com, which shows that a surcharge of $100/barrel would yield an average payment of more than $500 per month to all households.