Tom Friedman on the current "oil crisis"

Thomas Friedman had a piece in the NYT on Sunday about how President Bush is "squandering" his presidency on Social Security when he could be making history by being stronger on oil policy and environmental issues like emissions. Friedman cites a WIRED mag article that states that right now there are 800 million cars in use, by 2050 there will be 3.25 billion due to India and China's growth (that was an amazing stat i thought, however I would like to know how they came up with that figure). According to Friedman we should be taking steps to solve the energy problem and cut emissions through a host of measures, however one stuck out in my mind. Friedman proposes we set a flat rate for gasoline at $4 (nearly double the national avg. price). According to Friedman this will limit emissions b/c there will be people less willing to drive due to the high price associated with it and will thus force oil suppliers to drop prices due to less demand. What do you guys think about the flat rate?