One Uniform Type of Fuel for the Entire Country

What do you mean by fuel? Any action that restricts the free market will drive prices higher...

You seem to be unaware of how different California is from the rest of the country; different geologically, geographically, demographically, and politically. Different from the rest of the world, actually.

Have you considered that a fuel type that is probably 'overkill' in terms of environmental protection for California might not be the right fuel for a low population density state in the lower Great Plains? Or for the Dakotas? Or for the hot, humid Southeast? Or that the 'overkill' environmental efforts of California are undone by a huge environmentally apathetic country like China? No, ...I don't suppose you have.

The other reason fuels are different is the temperature of the environment.

Check this out.

9 reasons why your winter fuel economy bites! - MetroMPG.com

What value is a fuel that detracts from the engines efficiency?

California also has special gizmos and energy sapping devices in the cars sold there that defeat the special fuels idea.

I always wondered how CA cars were cleaner running if they used more fuel than cars w/o the special parts? Could it be the fresh air pumped through the exhaust skewed the results??

California clean air initiatives are for lining someone's pocket, those making special limited model smog parts and others selling them.

Odd the air isn't clearer than be fore the enviromentally friendly initiatives began.

"Odd the air isn't clearer than be fore the enviromentally friendly initiatives began."

You must never have been to LA in the 50's or 60's. In the 50's, your eyes burned as soon as you approached the region. I have no idea how the people who lived there got used to it. I was at UCLA in the summer of '65. There was an unusual summer rainstorm that washed the air, and suddenly all these mountains appeared! Even though I had visited several times previously, I had no idea that there were that many mountains in the area. They disappeared a couple of days later, as the smog returned.

I'm certainly NOT going to say that everything the environmentalists have done was indeed best for the environment, but in terms of air quality, the air is WAY better now, with far more vehicles and people, than it was half a century ago.

In case you haven't noticed, you can easily tell when you are driving behind one of those vehicles that is so old it is exempt from smog controls - you can smell it.
A lot of smells bring back pleasant memories from long ago, but that isn't one of them!

Yep. I remember going to LA from rural Arkansas in the late 50's.

I couldn't understand how people could live here, by choice. Red, burning eyes (and lungs) and tears the whole time we were there.

To be sure, all environmental regulations aren't bad. There are lots of good ones. The lakes and rivers were a mess back in those days too, and are cleaner now. But, like just about everything else that goes through the hands of politicians, they never know when to say enough is enough...................it's always more.

In states and areas where we have actual seasons, the fuel blend is changed to work under anticipated conditions, throughout the year. In Wisconsin, the metro Milwaukee area's fuel differs from most of the rest of the state due to differing conditions to be met. Neither version would be appropriate for, say, Los Angeles.

The next time Sacramento temperatures reach -20 Fahrenheit (~ -26 Celsius), see how well your car starts and runs on what we would see as "summer" fuel. That is, IF you can start it at all, with too few high-volatility compounds in the fuel, and probably a smaller battery than what could crank the engine with high-viscosity ["summer weight"] oil in the engine. Then try the same in truly cold temperatures, not merely what we see ordinarily every year here in balmy SOUTHERN Wisconsin. Think of places like Minot or International Falls - and then realize that there's an entire country between them and the state of Alaska.......

Lyn's #4 reply link answers many aspects of your question - but I'd like to note that Point #1 on that list misses a major problem: cars here cannot be "driven off after 30 seconds of warm-up" because it means that the windows will still be no better than translucent [they MIGHT transmit light; they will NOT transmit images for the driver to use to steer by!]. Sadly, while modern high-efficiency engines usually have fast-responding thermostats, and warm up quickly when under load, they may idle for a very long time and NEVER reach normal operating temperatures that will permit the defroster to function properly. Usually, by the time I've spent 5 -8 minutes [engine running, rear defroster "On"] scraping with a brass-bladed scraper, and using the "scratcher" feature on the other side a good bit, I can keep enough glass clear to see out forward, and the rear defroster's electrically-powered grid will give me some view aft. Sides will still be hopeless, as will the mirrors. An hour's drive will not help the mirrors, and heated ones were not offered when my car was built (not on that model, anyhow).

No "fuel" helps the environment. That's kind of like my wife telling me she got a great deal by getting 25% off a three hundred dollar skirt.

That being said, I should warn you right away that the most common thread on this blog is that government is bad, capitalism is good. And that's a good bumper sticker, I'd wear it. But when it comes to the environment, geopolitical energy sourcing and regulating sub prime debt, to name a few, it is only the government who can do it. So get used to the one size fits all attitude, cause if it's complicated, the fall back is always, leave it to the private sector, they know best. It's usually the taxpayer that pays to let business do what's best. so they can to make as much money as they can. And that includes me, but I'm a realist, and know that limits must be set, and they cost.

GA - and don't forget war - without government (DOD) the US would be a sitting duck. This is capitalism? Don't bet on it.

This explains a lot of it. I thought I posted it earlier, but I guess I forgot to push the submit button.

http://money.cnn.com/2011/01/03/news/economy/western-US-oil-gas-prices.fortune/index.htm