(day)light at the end of the tunnel

As of next week, people in the United States will continue to wind their clocks to Daylight Savings Time while here in Canada we'll be moving back one hour.

The U.S. notion is that this will save energy.

Maybe. It will also cause some confusion and hardship for some industries.

Here's a better idea.

All car vendors must issue -- with each car sold -- a wallet-sized card that stipulates how many kilometres/litre or miles/gallon your vehicle gets. If you already own a car, you'll get your card from the provincial or state government.

When you go to the gas pump, you'll insert your card into the pump. You'll pay the oil company's share, the gas station owner's share and the tax portion. But the tax portion will depend on your gas 'mileage'. Drive a guzzler and pay more for your gas -- significantly more -- than someone driving a Smart Car. Let's have a rapidly-escalating sliding scale, from motorcyclists, who'll likely pay the least, to SUV owners who'll pay through the nose for the privilege of hogging scarce resources.

Of course, all tax collected above the minimum required for highway maintainance and support of public transportation will go to developing new, environmentally-friendly forms of energy.

A simple, sustainable idea. All it will take is political will.