* Ben Lieberman misrepresents a study by the Harvard Kennedy School’s Belfer Center of which I am a co-author (“$7-a-Gallon Gas?” PostOpinion, June 18).
Our study, “Analysis of Policies to Reduce Oil Consumption and Greenhouse-Gas Emissions from the U.S. Transportation Sector,” looked at the effects of various policies to reduce both fuel consumption and carbon emissions in the transportation sector.
Its major finding was that significantly higher gasoline prices would be required to significantly reduce oil imports. We never analyzed President Obama’s “plan.”
In addition, Mr. Liebermann’s article states that we found that $7-a-gallon gas prices may be required by 2020 to “meet Obama’s stated goal of reducing emissions 14 percent from the transportation sector.”
These statements are misleading. The fact is that our study does not take a position for or against any of the policy initiatives that we analyzed. Also, the 14 percent figure is derived from the Waxman-Markey bill, not from any Obama plan.
Henry Lee
Director
Environment and Natural
Resources Program,
Harvard Kennedy
School’s Belfer Center
for Science and
International Affairs
Cambridge, Mass.