As America heads into summer with average gas prices topping $2 a gallon, the federal government should resist the temptation to reduce prices by relaxing environmental standards, a Duke University environmental scientist says.

"Easing environmental safeguards to bring about a short-term drop in gas prices during an election year would be counterproductive and irresponsible," said William H. Schlesinger, James B. Duke Professor of Biogeochemistry and dean of the Nicholas School of the Environment and Earth Sciences at Duke. "It sends the wrong signal to consumers, and any savings it may yield will pale in comparison to increased long-term costs in human and environmental health."

U.S. Commerce Secretary Donald Evans announced in May that the Bush administration is considering easing Environmental Protection Agency regulations that require the use of higher-priced fuel blends formulated to reduce emissions and address different regions' specific pollution problems.

Transportation fuels are major sources of carbon monoxide and other pollutants that contribute to tropospheric ozone, which is linked to higher rates of asthma, emphysema and other illnesses, especially among children. Fuel blends are specifically derived to reduce these emissions.

"Oil companies, not consumers, will be the main beneficiaries of relaxed fuel-blend rules," Schlesinger said. "Companies dislike the different blends because they're a pain to formulate; they'd prefer to make one blend for all markets. That makes sense from a business standpoint, but it's not in the best interest of public health and the environment."

Any savings created by easing the rules will be quickly swallowed up, he said, by continued price increases linked to growing global demand for petroleum, especially in China, where fuel consumption is rising at a rate of nearly 10 percent a year.

A better strategy for reducing fuel costs is to improve public transportation, increase tax breaks for hybrid or alternative-energy vehicles and boost all vehicles' fuel efficiency.

"There is no need for the average fuel efficiency of cars sold in the United States to be declining from 22.1 miles per gallon in 1988 to 20.4 in 2002 when the technology already exists to produce a comfortable, reliable car that gets 55 miles per gallon," Schlesinger said.

"Price increases are a welcome deterrent to America's wasteful energy consumption," he added. "We need to stop grumbling about them and accept them for what they are: A long overdue remedy to wean us off our energy-rich diet."