Some alternatives to a gas tax

A lot of people hate taxes. If asked, would you rather have death or taxes, some people might need a few moments to consider the question. How much of a tax are we talking about, some people might need to ask before answering the question.
A hatred of taxes explains why you often hear people say global warming is real, and taxes are the right solution but don't raise my taxes. There is a 50 cent gas tax bill in the works now, and - I have to admit - I started thinking whether that 90 percent certainty (that humans are causing global warming) that the IPCC is talking about really isn't all that definitive. So, I thought, why not seriously consider some alternatives to the gas tax? Here are two of my favorites;

• Only tax when gas prices are low. A minimum price for gas would allow energy technologies that don't make sense when competing with low gas prices to develop. It would go a long way to answering critics that say gas prices are illegally manipulated anyway. Some states already have minimum prices for ethanol. I think gas deserves that kind of treatment.
• Tax gas but then give it back. Tax gas as much as you like but make the amount tax deductible. The plans vary but the gas tax could also be equal to a cut in payroll taxes, which could use some cutting. No one could complain about a gas tax then because it's not really a tax, it's more of a gas loan. The gas tax rebate has had problems because there really are no "lock boxes" in government for any taxes, and personally, I think I might drive more if I knew it meant lower taxes.

What's your favorite solution to the making gas taxes a little more palatable to a nation that started a revolution over taxes? I actually first heard about the gas tax rebate from a comment at AutoblogGreen. I would really like to hear your comments on this article. Below the fold is a video of David Brooks of the New York Times on the potential of a gas tax. David says no "living politician" would risk supporting it.

[Source: Times Herald]

The video meant to be presented here is no longer available. Sorry for the inconvenience.